Wolves boss praises 'true team spirit' in Brazilian midfielder
Vitor Pereira has heaped praise on 'very happy' Joao Gomes for the 'true team spirit' he brings to Wolves.
The head coach spent a brief spell with Gomes at Brazilian side Flamengo before the midfielder joined Wolves in January 2023 and since Pereira arrived at Wolves, Gomes has remained a key member of the starting XI.
Born in Rio de Janeiro, football is all Gomes has known from a young age and Pereira says his desire to play the game means he gives everything for the Wolves shirt.
"Joao is the kind of player that is very happy playing football and you feel this every day," Pereira said.
"He comes happy to the training, he goes inside happy as a boy playing in school with friends.
"He has this spirit and he has true team spirit because he likes to help, he likes to be there, to run, to give everything.
"This is the typical player that we are looking for."
The 24-year-old has regularly been linked with some of Europe's biggest clubs and there is an expectation that top clubs will eventually make a move to sign him.
When asked how good Gomes can be, Pereira added: "I can't say to you, but if he's a player linking with the Brazilian national team, you know the quality of this team.
"It means if you are a player that they (choose) it means that you need to have the top level.
"If not, it's impossible to compete in this national team.
"This is the kind of player that we cannot predict because he's young.
"He's young and I think it depends what will happen with his career."
Gomes was recently suspended for the win over Villa and Pereira was forced into playing Jean-Ricner Bellegarde in a midfield two.
The Frenchman put in an impressive performance that has seen him emerge has an option in the middle of the park.
When asked about Gomes and how important he is to the team, Pereira took the opportunity to pivot and praise Bellegarde for his impact.
The head coach said: "I know him (Gomes) very well, he wants to run, he wants to fight for all the balls, he wants to be there every time.
"But you know what happened with this suspension that he got, we won another midfielder because with Bellegarde, I thought that was not the position for him.
"But in the end, I'm very happy because we won another midfielder and a midfielder that I believe can help us."
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