Wolves journalist Liam Keen has given his view on a potential return to the club of Vitinha at some point in the future.
According to a report from Portuguese outlet Record (via Sport Witness), Wolves scouts were in attendance to watch Vitinha’s current side Porto in their recent game against Tondela, with Sport Witness noting that “Record heavily suggest Wolves will have been keeping an eye on Vitinha, who they had on loan from Porto last season.”
Speaking on the latest edition of the E&S Wolves podcast (1:01:21), Keen was asked by host Nathan Judah whether or not he would want to see the 21-year-old midfielder back at the club. Keen didn’t seem to be too enthusiastic about the idea, although he didn’t rule out the possibility of it becoming a reality:
“He seems to be doing pretty well for Porto. But I wouldn’t, it depends on what the deal is, there was talk of it being £18m-£20m before, I think that’s far too much. I’m not sure he quite fits the system because obviously this is the same system as last year, and I don’t think he quite fit the system last year either, so probably not. But there’s potential.”
TIF Thoughts on Liam Keen’s comments about Vitinha and a return to Wolves
Would you like to see Vitinha come back?
Yes
No
Keen is right when it comes to his fit at Molineux because last year was something of a disaster for Vitinha, as he struggled to make an impact on the side, only starting five games in the league, whilst only being able to grab one goal and one assist in all competitions.
And the fee that Keen mentioned was a reported €20m option that Wolves had the opportunity to exercise to make the deal permanent, but ultimately didn’t, and based on his numbers last season it would have taken a drastic turnaround for him to eventually justify being worth that much.
But as Keen says, there is always the potential for him to come back at some point if things change at the club. Moving forward Wolves boss Bruno Lage might decide to change formation and style into something that would allow Vitinha to flourish a little bit better and the two sides might agree to give it another go.
Although perhaps not at the €20m (£16.9m) that Wolves would have needed in the summer, unless his abilities really take off whilst he’s back in Portugal.
In other news: ‘As far as I’m aware’ – Journalist drops Renato Sanches transfer claim at Wolves