Premier League Club Told How They Could've Kept 'Next Bruno Fernandes'

Wolverhampton Wanderers had the chance to keep an exceptionally talented player.

Sporting CP’s Pedro Goncalves is widely regarded in Portugal as the “next Bruno Fernandes.” The attacking midfielder has been remarkable in Primeira Liga, having bagged a staggering 15 goals in 21 matches to date.

However, The Athletic’s Tim Spiers, who is also a longtime Wolves correspondent, recently explained that Goncalves’ future could’ve been completely different.

According to Spiers, the Wolves made a terrible mistake of selling the Portuguese to FC Famalicao in the summer of 2019.

“I would say the bigger mistake is not letting him go on loan,” Spiers told Express & Star Wolves Podcast of Goncalves. “I did a piece on this a few weeks ago, and I fully understand why he went at the time because he’d just been playing Under-23 football, he’d mostly been playing central midfield.”

Spiers further pointed out that though it seems unlikely for Goncalves to have a spot in the stacked Wolves first team at the time, the English side should’ve still pushed through with a loan deal which could’ve allowed them to bring back the attacker.

“I thought there’s no chance of him [Goncalves] getting the first team, he’s too good for the Under-23s–that’s what they felt,” the Wolves journalist assessed. “And he needed to get out, he was at that stage of his career.”

“Now, what they should have done, in my opinion, was send him out on loan to Portugal and see what he could have done and then brought him back, but they sold him for not a lot of money,” he continued. “He’s done pretty well. And then he’s moved on to Sporting and now he’s just turning into a superstar. But you can never tell with these things. Yes, it’s frustrating; yes, it’s a massive mistake.”

Despite his notable attributes, Goncalves, at the time of his Wolves departure, wasn’t viewed as a valuable signing.

It is believed that the Wolves sold him for an estimated £1 million ($1.4 million). Sporting CP, on the other hand, made a swoop for his services just a year later for not more than £6 million ($8.3 million).

At present, Goncalves is one of the biggest draws in the transfer market with a £53 million ($72 million) release clause.

Previous reports state that Manchester United is said to have already made an offer for the 22-year-old, but Sporting isn’t interested in letting the player go.