The Athletic’s Tim Spiers has recently aired some criticism of Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Portuguese midfielder Joao Moutinho.
Wolves’ 34-year-old middleman has been situated at Molineux since the summer of 2018, with the Old Gold having paid £5.04m to secure his services from AS Monaco (per Transfermarkt).
During his time playing for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, Moutinho has made 105 appearances in which he has scored two and provided 21 assists.
Last season, Moutinho was Wolves’ fourth-best performer in the Premier League as he picked up a 7.01/10 average rating (per WhoScored).
However, in the latest episode of The Athletic’s The Molineux View podcast, Spiers discussed the veteran midfielder and aired some criticism of him.
He said: “I think [Ruben Neves] is going to be a sitter and I think if you’re going to do that, then it’s got to be [Leander] Dendoncker alongside him, at the moment.
“I wouldn’t have dreamed of saying that six months ago, but Moutinho’s influence has waned dramatically, really.
“He’s not influencing on games, he’s not being a defensive shield and he’s not offering enough going forward in the final third. His ball retention’s fine, but that’s about it, really. I’ve got to say, I don’t know if I’m being overly harsh.”
TIF Thoughts…
As can be seen in what The Athletic reporter had to say, he seems to believe that so far this season, the Portuguese midfielder’s influence in games has “waned”.
Have you been disappointed in Joao Moutinho so far this season?
No, he's been good enough
Yes, not been good enough
Judging from the fact that the 34-year-old middleman has been Wolves’ fifth-worst performer in the Premier League so far this season with a weak 6.39/10 average rating, it seems Spiers has a point.
Hopefully, over the remainder of the season, Moutinho, who is now valued at £7.2 million (as per Transfermarkt), can return to the levels which saw him finish the 2019/20 league season as Wolves’ fourth-best performer.