Gelson Martins could have helped the Wolves finish in European spots
Wolverhampton Wanderers have been a busy club since making their return to the Premier League. The Wolves lifted the Championship title in stylish fashion last season as Nuno Espirito Santo’s men romped to the top. The club have subsequently completed a number of high-profile signings over the last month.
Wolves signed goalkeeper Rui Patricio, Diogo Jota, Raul Jimenez and a host of other players. The club have also been linked with former Real Madrid defender Pepe.
But the club failed to land a major target in Gelson Martins. The Portuguese international joined Atletico Madrid on a six-year contract amidst interest from the Wolves. What’s worse is that the Spanish outfit signed the player for free. That’s a steal by Atletico and a huge loss for the Wolves.
Martins came through the ranks of Sporting CP’s youth academy before progressing to the senior squad in 2015. The winger then went on to make a total of 92 appearances for the Portuguese outfit, scoring 18 goals.
The 23-year-old winger made a total of 31 appearances in the Portuguese League last season, scoring 8 goals and providing 8 assists. He also scored 1 goal in 3 Taca De Portugal appearances. Gelson Martins is generally deployed as a right-winger but the youngster is also capable of playing on the left flank. He is a versatile winger who brings a new dimension to the side he plays for.
The Portuguese international is an impressive dribbler of the ball, and uses his pace and trickery to ghost past defenders. He completed an average of 2.6 dribbles per game last season. The winger is also an accurate passer of the ball, averaging a pass success rate of 83.3% in the Portuguese league last season.
Martins possesses all the right qualities and traits to go on and become a sensational winger in the future. His impressive performances saw the youngster rewarded with a spot in the Portugal national team that competed at the World Cup. Though he was just able to make one appearance, the winger has shown plenty of promise.
Nuno Espirito Santo will certainly rue missing out on his signature, but there’s still two weeks for the manager to snap up an alternative. The transfer window shuts on August 9th and the Portuguese coach should speed things up if he intends to sign another player.