Wolves boss salutes signing for helping striker hit stunning form
Vitor Pereira has hailed Marshall Munetsi for helping to bring the best out of Jorgen Strand Larsen at Wolves.
Larsen enjoyed a superb finish to his first season at Molineux, scoring seven goals in his final nine appearances to double his tally for the campaign.
And while boss Pereira praised the Norway international’s hard work and determination to improve, he believes January signing Munetsi has also played his part.
The Zimbabwe international scored only twice himself in 16 appearances after joining in a £16million deadline day move from Reims.
But Pereira recognises he has played a key role for the team in creating the space in which his fellow forward has profited.
Asked about Strand Larsen’s improvement, Pereira replied: "He's working a lot and he's more confident.
"He's working a lot on the small things that make the difference, the technical things for a striker.
"But now, almost all the time, we have a player close to him and that player is Munetsi.
"In France he played behind the striker and he attacks the space a lot. The connection between them is a good one.”
Larsen joined from Celta Vigo for an initial £2.5million loan fee last summer and the club will take the option to make the move permanent for £23m this summer.
His late goal burst saw him finish in the top-10 of the Premier League goalscoring charts and Pereira thinks the burgeoning partnership with Munetsi can continue to be a profitable one.
He said: "I look at the video to prepare for the next game and every time we cross a ball into the box, Munetsi is there to do the movement and open the space for Larsen.
"Every time he is there, these movements support Larsen. He attracts the opponent and opens space.
"It's not only this, but in my opinion this connection between them is very important.”
Pereira is braced for a significant shake-up of his playing squad in his first summer at Molineux with Pablo Sarabia and Matheus Cunha having already departed and Nelson Semedo and Rayan Ait-Nouri potentially joining them in the weeks ahead.
One player Wolves have no intention of letting depart is Yerson Mosquera, despite reports in Spain claiming the centre-back could be available for loan.
Mosquera missed almost the entirety of the season after suffering a serious knee injury in last September’s derby defeat at Villa.
But the 24-year-old is on course to be fit for the start of pre-season and is viewed by Pereira and his coaching staff as a key part of their plans moving forward.
Mosquera signed a new five-year contract at Molineux in March, despite his injury.
Speaking at the time, Pereira said: “Yerson has the profile in a central defender that I like.
“He’s aggressive, strong, fast, good with the ball, and for me he has all the attributes to help us. I don’t have any doubts that he will fit my system.”
