Daniel Podence may have had a slightly slow start to his Wolves career, but in the few chances he has had, he’s certainly been impressing.
Following the club’s 3-2 defeat to Espanyol last night, former player Paul Ince waxed lyrical about the performances of the Portuguese winger, stating that he showcased his talents for all to see.
The 24-year-old played a key part in both of Wolves goals. The first he used a bit of trickery to beat his man before passing it to Adama Traore who had a blocked shot before hitting it past Andres Prieto in the Espanyol net to make it 1-1. For the second, Podence found himself once again in a large amount of space on the left flank, before playing a perfect pass across the face of the goal for Matt Doherty to bundle in from about a yard out.
Podence looked threatening throughout and was particularly dangerous with the ball at his feet. He nearly scored a wondergoal in the second half after a mazy run but couldn’t get his long-range shot on target.
Former West Ham striker Jonathan Calleri managed to bag a hat-trick, but in truth, Espanyol never looked likely of turning around their 4-0 deficit from the first leg.
Should Daniel Podence be starting?
Yes
No
Gradually
After the match, Ince spoke to BT Sport about how impressed he was with the former Olympiacos man’s performance.
Ince said (7:50pm, 27 February). “He (Podence) didn’t get much game time in the Premier League, but what we can see is he’s a very, very good player.
“He’s got two great feet, great awareness. From an individual point of view he’s saying to Nuno ‘I want to play, I want to start’. I thought he was excellent, everything he did was sharp, he created and assisted, he’s got a lovely balance about him.”
Given the form of Diogo Jota, Raul Jimenez and Adama Traore, it makes total sense for him not to be playing right now, but they clearly have one hell of a player there.
It’s likely that they will take their time to get him more involved, but he’s exactly the kind of depth that Wolves need if they are to advance further in this competition and potentially qualify for the Champions League.
With Wolves being drawn against Olympiacos in the next round, it will be interesting to see how he gets on against his former club.
Squad building is the key not letting valuable cogs leave for a profit. Our recruitment has been good so far, every signing has improved while with us (even Cutrone) and has a greater value as an asset. Podence is already worth more than £19m. Bring on Olympiacos, March 19th will be a great night.