Liam Keen comment: Quality midfielders a blessing and curse in Wolves rebuild

Joao Gomes and Andre have struck up an impressive partnership in the middle of the park and they form a crucial part of Wolves' strong spine.

The squad needs work, however. It needs some more depth, it needs balancing and it needs senior attacking quality with proven goals, an area we know they are working to improve alongside the additions of Fer Lopez and Jhon Arias, while they also must address the wing-back conundrum.

An area that also needs attention, however, is the midfield department.

Gomes continues to go from strength to strength since his arrival in January 2023. He has grown into one of the first names on the teamsheet and has been tipped for great things in his career.

However, he signed a new five-year contract in April and Wolves will enjoy his talent, aggressive tackling and full-throttle style for a little longer.

Andre had a mixed start to life in a Wolves shirt as O'Neil tried to shoehorn him, Gomes and Mario Lemina into the same starting XI, but it never worked.

He was even briefly left out of the team and it was not until Vitor Pereira's arrival - and Lemina's subsequent exit - that Wolves got the most out of Andre.

He may be diminutive in size but he can handle the physical challenges that come his way in the Premier League and his ball-winning tackles make him a nightmare to play against.

Italian giants Juventus registered their interest in Andre but Wolves are not prepared to let him go this summer as he forms a key part of the team.

The pair have formed a great partnership, with Andre sitting in as the number six and Gomes given more licence to roam as a number eight, and they will surely start the season together.

The quality they possess is a huge benefit to Wolves, but balancing the overall midfield department then becomes a challenge.

Tommy Doyle has already departed on loan to Birmingham due to a lack of opportunities under Pereira.

Boubacar Traore did not travel with the first team to Portugal for pre-season and has now re-joined Metz on loan.

Meanwhile, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Marshall Munetsi remain the other options and the pair played together in a midfield two against Santa Clara in a training game in Portugal, and briefly against Burnley on the same trip.

Bellegarde was briefly transformed into a central midfielder last season and had his best spell in a Wolves shirt by some distance.

As a number eight, and more attacking option, he has the ability to carry the ball beyond players and make runs from deep - and he was recently moved from the forwards to the midfielders in the squad list on the Wolves website. He was also named as a midfielder when Wolves announced their squad for the Portugal trip.

Winter signing Munetsi is also listed among the midfielders but played in the front three under Pereira last season, as one of the number 10s that got close to striker Jorgen Strand Larsen and supported him.

Munetsi played in that front three again against Burnley and it is understood Pereira sees him playing in those positions moving forward, rather than in a midfield two, although he can clearly be considered as cover for those positions.

However, based on comments from a few months ago, Pereira understands that Munetsi's role in the team is not to necessarily find the back of the net.

"When we decided to go for Munetsi it was not for him to score goals," the head coach said towards the end of last season.

"It was to make the work he is doing, helping the team.

"Munetsi is not a 10, he's not a playmaker, he's a worker. 

"I realised when I arrived here that we needed someone with this profile and I'm very happy with him.

"I worked in some countries where they look for the technique, if the player is beautiful on the pitch or has a fantastic free-kick.

"I worked in countries that look a lot for what we see, but as a manager I go deeper when I analyse a player.

"If the club wants to send the data of Munetsi, the people will understand everything.

"The database from the games and training - everything will understand what I'm talking about.

"You cannot build a team just with fancy players.

"We need to balance the hard workers, to have others that don't work in the same way but they can decide a game. A team is a balance."

Wolves are also shopping around in the midfield department, however, and understandably so.

Outside of likely starters Andre and Gomes, the other midfield options have question marks against them for one reason or another.

That means Wolves have a midfield contingent with plenty of quality but not enough depth and any injury to the two starters would severely impact the team. The squad is light of an extra midfielder and Pereira is very keen to get one signed this summer.

This is where Wolves' recruitment engine will earn it's money. Finding a midfielder that is good enough to replace Andre or Gomes when necessary, but is happy enough to play understudy to them for the most part, is certainly not easy.

In particular, Wolves have no real replacement for Andre. His partner Gomes can fill in there and is the best option to do so but Wolves could do with a strong addition to that specialist position.

In a summer where Wolves have plenty of work to do on the squad, this position is another to add to the list if it is to become a perfect transfer window.