Dave Edwards: Wolves' midfield looking strong ahead of season opener

These friendlies don’t always give a true reflection of what's going on behind the scenes at the training ground, but we saw it all come together on Saturday and it looked like a team that was connected, full of energy, exciting going forward, resilient and looked like they'd played together in that system for a long time.

A lot of credit has to go to Cesar Peixoto. Obviously, the real test will be in the Carabao Cup against Port Vale this week, then on to the first Championship game against Blackburn, but there are some very good signs.

Two players who really stood out for me on the day were two players that were surplus to requirements under Rob Edwards in Fer Lopez and Marshall Munetsi.

I was unsure if Lopez would stick around, but if he is hungry to play in the Championship, then he is going to be a real weapon for Wolves. There won't be many players with the quality he has.

I've watched a lot of the championship in recent years, I've played most of my career in the championship and he will be a real stand-out player if his performance levels are as good as what they can be and he reaches his potential.

He works really well in this system. He plays as the 10, he's the connector between midfield and attack, but he has a licence to roam, especially into the half spaces on the right-hand side where he can pick up the ball and cut in on his left foot.

His vision and execution of his passing is terrific and that will be massive for Wolves moving forward in their creativity next season.

I thought he struggled physically in the Premier League. I always remember one of his first games against Leeds where he started the game so well at Molineux, set up Ladislav Krejci for the opening goal, but then Wolves spent long periods without the ball and physically he was left wanting.

But the Championship's going to be nothing like that. Wolves are going to have a lot more of the ball, he’ll have more opportunities to find those pockets of space and he won't have to do as much defensive work as what he did for Wolves in the Premier League. I think he could be an absolute star.

The other man - the forgotten man Munetsi - is someone I've always banged the drum for because I believe he does make a difference in the team.

I would have liked to have seen him stay and play more last season. Technically maybe he doesn't have the quality to play in the Premier League, but I think he does a lot of work that people don't see.

I think he makes players better around him, I think he brings out the best in other players because he'll do a lot of the hard yards for them and he's a very clever footballer as well. You can tell that by the way he anticipates where the ball is going to be.

When you look at a midfield three of Munetsi, Andre and Lopez, you have the technical ability in there with Andre and Lopez. If you added another technical player to that, it might look good on paper, but it doesn't bring the balance that Munetsi brings.

He's the closest that Wolves have to Joao Gomes in bringing that physicality and ball-winning ability. With that anticipation to get in the box, he will score goals this year, undoubtedly, if he's playing regularly.

He played a big part in the first goal and had a big chance before that. In the Championship, I think that pretty much every other club would want Munetsi in their team.

Although Wolves are still looking in the market for a number eight, Munetsi might just be the answer until that person arrives. If he does enough in those games to prove himself, then he might just be the answer long term as well.

His physicality, running power and ball-winning ability will be so important for Wolves in the Championship because there'll be so many more opportunities for that turnover of possession and him being in the right place at the right time will be a big thing for Wolves.

Fans get frustrated with him because his technical ability isn’t what they’d like, but you can't have 11 players in the team who are all luxury players. It just doesn't work and there's a reason why players like Jordan Henderson are liked by so many managers.

It's because of what they do for the team. Football is a team game and he's an important cog at the moment.

The midfield is looking strong for Wolves and there will be work to do, too. They also have Tommy Doyle and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde when he’s back fit, so I think there's enough in there to go and dominate big parts of the Championship.