The Athletic’s Wolverhampton Wanderers correspondent Tim Spiers has recently aired some criticism of Portuguese defender Nelson Semedo.
During the recent transfer window, the Old Gold acquired the services of the full-back from Barcelona in a deal that could be worth £37m (per BBC).
Since his arrival, the 26-year-old defender has made three Premier League appearances in which he has earned an impressive 7.10/10 average rating (per WhoScored).
During the 1-0 victory over Leeds United on Monday night, WhoScored awarded the £31.5m-rated man an impressive 7.55/10 performance rating, making him Wolves’ fourth-best player on the night.
However, during the latest episode of The Athletic’s The Molineux View podcast, Spiers aired some criticism of the 26-year-old defender when discussing Wolves’ wing-back positions.
He said: “The wing-backs [on Monday]… Semedo was probably the worst Wolves player on the pitch.
“That’s not me massively criticising him because he’s not had much football, he wasn’t fit, he’s had to come off in his first two Wolves games because he’s not 100% fit.
“So, he’s going to take time to adjust.
“On the other flank, you’ve got [Romain] Saiss filling in and doing an admirable job. You’ve got to say, he’s a fish out of water at left wing-back but he’s done really well [in] the last two games.”
TIF Thoughts on Tim Spiers’ criticism of Nelson Semedo in the match against Leeds…
As can be seen in what Spiers had to say, he was so unimpressed by Semedo’s performance against the Whites he went as far as to call him the “worst Wolves player on the pitch”.
Was Nelson Semedo Wolves' worst player on the pitch against Leeds on Monday?
No, he was solid
Yes, not good enough
According to WhoScored, though, there were ten other Wolves players who made an appearance at Elland road who delivered a weaker performance rating than him.
Furthermore, over his three appearances for the Old Gold in the top flight this term, the Portuguese defender has been Wolves’ second-best performer with his 7.10/10 average rating.
So, while Spiers was quick to suggest that he was not “massively criticising him”, it seems the journalist’s assessment of Semedo’s performance against Leeds was harsh.