Recently, Wolves have been linked with a move for Joao Palhinha, but would he be an upgrade on Joao Moutinho?
Indeed, as reported by Jornal de Notícias (via Sport Witness) the Premier League club had a scout watching the player as he stepped out for Sporting in a recent match against Porto.
The same report adds that his agents had a few approaches in January, but his club would be demanding at least €30m (£25m) to let him go.
Taking all that into account, let’s compare him with Moutinho to see if he would be worth the money.
Joao Palhinha
Operating primarily as a defensive midfielder, Palhinha averages 3.4 tackles per game, which is much better than Moutinho’s 1.9. He also fares better when it comes to other attributes such as aerial duels, clearances and being dribbled past.
He is a better dribbler with the ball at his feet – completing almost one every game – and picked up 2.4 fouls on average, which is considerably more than the Wolves man’s 0.5.
He also has fresh experience at the highest level, playing for Sporting in the Champions League group stages, as well as the first knockout round more recently against Manchester City.
Joao Moutinho
Now 35 years old, the main issue with Moutinho is naturally his age. However, the experienced midfielder is showing little signs of slowing down this season.
Indeed, in every Premier League season so far with the club, he has played over 30 games for Wolves. This season, he has played 22 of their possible 24 outings, so looks on course to keep up that record.
While he is not quite as good defensively as Palhinha, Moutinho’s talent shows on the ball. Indeed, the veteran averages more key passes, more crosses, more long balls and more passes in general. And, of course, he is a known fit within Bruno Lage’s setup – and has plenty of silverware too.
Do Wolves need to replace Joao Moutinho this summer?
Yes
No
TIF verdict…
What works in favour of Palhinha is both his age and his height. Indeed, the Sporting player is nine years younger, and 20 centimetres taller (via Transfermarkt). So if Wolves want a fresh physical presence in the middle of the park, they know who to turn to.
However, if you can look beyond that, it’s hard to see the 26-year-old being a massive upgrade on Moutinho. While he does have slightly better defensive stats, Lage’s men are already very good in that department, having conceded the joint second-least amount of league goals this season.
Although, he could provide quite a nice balance next to Ruben Neves in the middle of midfield, as the Portuguese man can find himself on the edge of the box firing shots in on goal, which worked well for Wolves last time out as the midfielder bagged himself a goal. He’s quite similar to Moutinho in other aspects, with his style of play revolving around long balls and his passing ability being a strength.
With that in mind, perhaps Palhinha could be the man to step in should Moutinho leave or retire.
In other news: The attack-minded 22 y/o who could help Wolves solves goalscoring issues – opinion