Joao Gomes is about to complete his first full season at Wolves, after joining the club in January 2023 – and today, he can count himself very unlucky.
The Brazilian has been a regular fixture this season in the Wolves midfield following the departure of Ruben Neves to Saudi Arabia, with Gary O’Neil handing him 36 appearances across all competitions.
Gomes took on Neves’ old number eight shirt which was a bold decision – but the man nicknamed ‘The Pitbull’ has relished wearing the jersey of a Molineux icon.
As a result of his performances, Gomes’ stock has been rising recently, with a number of clubs – such as Arsenal and Manchester United – thought to be tracking him ahead of the summer.
Without doubt, he has been one of Wolves’ best performers this season.
That said, today he can count himself really unlucky following the announcement of a certain list…
Joao Gomes unfortunate to miss out on Young Player of the Season nomination
Today, the Premier League have announced the nominees for both the Player of the Season and Young Player of the Season awards.
The players who are battling out for the Young Player award are Phil Foden, Erling Haaland, Cole Palmer, Destiny Udogie, Kobbie Mainoo, Alexander Isak and William Saliba.
Sadly, there was no place on the shortlist for Gomes – and it has to be said, he is very unlucky not to be on there.
This season, the likes of Matheus Cunha, Hwang Hee-chan and Pedro Neto have grabbed the headlines at Wolves for their exploits up top, and the way they have helped the team to become more potent.
But Wolves wouldn’t be the team they are today without the tireless Gomes, who has established himself as one of the Premier League’s very best ball-winners.
Sadly, that is an art that doesn’t really get the same attention as goalscoring or assist-making. But goalscoring and assist-making sometimes can’t happen without a bit of ball-winning beforehand.
Gomes has been described this season by Molineux legend Dave Edwards as the best ball-winner he has ever seen in a Wolves shirt, which is extremely high praise.
The South American has a remarkable knack of picking the opponent’s pocket when it doesn’t look possible to do so.
Just for some context of how combative Gomes has been, Squawka have today made a comparison between him and Rodri of Manchester City. Gomes has actually made 115 tackles in the league so far, which is almost double the amount Rodri has. And Gomes has won 190 duels – two more than the City man.
It may be that Gomes has been overlooked because of his quality on the ball not being as high as some of the others that have been nominated. O’Neil did say earlier in the season that he was looking to improve Gomes’ on-the-ball quality.
Premier League should revise their rules for YPOTS category
Gomes can definitely count himself unlucky not to have been included among the nominees for Young Player of the Season.
Arguably, Gomes’ lack of impact in the final third has probably counted against him. It shouldn’t have, because that is not what he is about.
But with just two goals and one assist to his name, the £30,000-a-week gem has probably had less of a spotlight on him.
Gomes probably wouldn’t win if he was up. But he is definitely at least worthy of being acknowledged in the form of a nomination. Perhaps the rules should be revised so that players with a huge number of appearances like Foden and Haaland shouldn’t be eligible.
But Wolves fans know full well how good Gomes has been this season and are delighted with how he has performed. Hopefully, the club will be able to hold onto him this summer, because he will surely have some clubs coming calling.