Joao Moutinho will be key for Wolves in midfield this season
Wolves have made a steady start to their season in the Premier League, winning one, drawing two and losing one game. They have looked attractive since the arrival of Nuno Espirito Santo.
The club did some fantastic business in the summer, which is quite unusual for a newly-promoted team. They have brought in some international quality and experience to cope with the high-level demands of the English top-flight.
One of those high-profile signings was Joao Moutinho – a Portuguese international and a veteran of over 300 club games in various leagues. Wolves signed him for a fee of £5m on a two-year deal from French club Monaco, which a real coup for the club who have shown high ambition.
At 31, Moutinho will add experience and the know-how of how to deal with certain testing situations in the league. We are witnessing that in his performances in the early part of this campaign. For that reason, the Portuguese midfielder would be a key figure for Nuno in the coming games. Let’s have a closer look at the player.
Player analysis – Joao Moutinho
On the evidence of the games played so far, it is pretty clear what Moutinho is bringing to this attack-minded Wolves side. He is able to sit in front of the back three and dictate the tempo of the game with accurate passing and clever understanding of the game.
Dipping into some stats from this season, the 31-year-old has a pass accuracy of 88.4%, a high number for a midfielder who is there to link the defence and the attack. The good thing about him is his defensive capability off the ball, which also helps his partner Ruben Neves to be more audacious with the ball.
Moutinho has a tackle rate of 3.3 and has an average of 1 interception per game. He is the director-general of the Wolves midfield, where he protects the defence and feeds the attacking players with simple forward passes.
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Verdict
Joao Moutinho is an experienced campaigner, who doesn’t crumble under pressure. Maybe he is the right person for Nuno to have in a traffic area, where the player can be relied upon to do various roles when required. Hence, the 31-year-old is a very good buy by Wolves.