The Athletic’s Wolves correspondent, Tim Spiers, has been on the latest Evening & Star Wolves podcast to discuss all things related with the Old Gold.
In a feature where fans could ask their own questions, Spiers was asked about the departure of Pedro Goncalves in the summer of 2019, with the winger now playing for Primeira Liga leaders, Sporting CP.
Goncalves has impressed massively with Sporting this season, scoring 15 goals across his 20 appearances in the league (via Transfermarkt).
Speaking on the subject of the departed winger, Spiers had this to say on the matter.
He said: “I would say the bigger mistake is not letting him go on loan. 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.
“And at the time, they were going into their second or first Premier League season with Neves, Moutinho, with Dendoncker ahead of him. I thought there’s no chance of him getting the first team, he’s too good for the Under-23s – that’s what they felt. 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’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.”
Were Wolves wrong to sell Goncalves?
Yes
No
Wolves allowed Goncalves to leave in 2019 to FC Famalicão for a fee believed to be in the region of just over £1m and Sporting snapped him up just one year later for just under £6m.
TIF Thoughts on Spiers’ comments…
When you look at the numbers which the winger is now putting up at Sporting, it’s hard to disagree Wolves have made a massive mistake in allowing him to leave, and for such a small fee.
However, Spiers has mentioned the fact that when and if Goncalves leaves Sporting, Wolves will receive a percentage of the fee agreed by Sporting for the winger. But there is no doubt Wolves should have allowed the Portuguese forward to leave on loan to gain some experience in a first-team environment, in hindsight.