Wolves are interested in a move for 18-year-old Porto full-back Tomas Esteves as a potential replacement for Matt Doherty, a report from Portuguese outlet A Bola has claimed.
Following the long-serving Doherty’s move to Premier League rivals Tottenham earlier this summer, Wolves are in need of a new first-choice right-back, and it seems they may now have found that in Esteves.
According to the latest reports, Wolves are keen on a move for Esteves, having identified the teenager as their main candidate to replace Doherty, despite the fact that he has made just three appearances in all competitions for the Portuguese champions’ first-team.
As things stand, there are four years remaining on Esteves’ contract with Porto, meaning the club are in a strong position to negotiate any offer that comes in for the defender.
Esteves would not be the first youngster to make the move from Porto to Wolves this summer. Fellow 18-year-old Fabio Silva has already completed his Molineux transfer for a club-record fee, while 20-year-old midfielder Vitor Ferreira is expected to join on loan with the option to buy once he has completed international duty with Portugal’s Under 21s.
This feels like it would be a big risk for Wolves to take if they were to turn to Esteves to fill Doherty’s shoes at Molineux.
Not only is a player with the popularity and influence that Doherty had going to be hard to replace for anyone, but Esteves’ lack of experience means you do have to wonder whether he is capable of performing week in week out at Premier League level.
That being said, the teenager is clearly highly rated, and he could certainly be on for the future, even if it turns out that he is not necessarily one for the present.
If anyone has doubts about Esteves’ potential, take a look at this ‘youtube’ collection of his performances –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMK_qSLWW7Q
Remember though, these are not top pro’s he’s playing against but even so, still very talented!