Former England star and BBC pundit Chris Waddle has said that Wolverhampton Wanderers goalkeeper Rui Patricio is worth £60million after making what he deemed to be a potential save of the season against Manchester City.
The Portuguese international, who stands at 6’2″ (source: Transfermarkt), was heavily tested by Pep Guardiola’s men during their clash on Saturday afternoon, and denied Raheem Sterling a stunning strike from 30 yards out with an equally impressive save that he turned onto the crossbar.
Commentating on the game for BBC Radio 5 live, Waddle stated that the save made him “worth the £60million” that Sporting Lisbon are said to be demanding after his controversial exit on a free transfer, and that he would be surprised if anyone pulled off as impressive a save for the remainder of the campaign.
Opinion
It is a bit early to suggest that the 30-year-old shot stopper is worth £60million but it was without a doubt a brilliant save that kept Wolves in the tie when City were dominating. If he can continue to perform in the way that he has so far this season then he is almost guaranteed to pick Wolves up some points single handedly – or perhaps with both hands, should that be the case between the sticks. The opening three games of the season have given Nuno Esperito Santo and the Molineux faithful plenty to be optimistic about but keeping up the form of these early stages will take some serious hard work. Many of the top teams are not yet up to speed – that certainly seemed the case with Manchester City – and once they are, Wolves will be seriously tested. For now it is important they get as many points on the board as possible.