Since becoming Wolves manager in December, Vitor Pereira’s man management skills have been top-drawer.
The Portuguese boss has got the best out of players who were often frozen out under Gary O’Neil or struggled for form.
Jean-Ricner Bellegarde is flourishing under Vitor Pereira, scoring in Wolves’ 2-0 win over Aston Villa and providing the assist for Matheus Cunha against Liverpool.
Toti Gomes is also in excellent form, cementing his place on the left side of defence and becoming a vital cog in Pereira’s well-oiled system.
While some have benefitted from the appointment of the 56-year-old, others have continued to be left out of his plans, including winger Carlos Forbs.
Carlos Forbs is not ‘comfortable’ playing wing-back for Wolves
Wolves signed Forbs on loan from Ajax on transfer deadline day last summer. The 20-year-old was seen as an exciting talent, someone who could get bums off seats.
Unfortunately, his temporary spell at Molineux couldn’t have gone any worse so far. The Portuguese winger has played just 232 minutes of league action and last appeared in a 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest in January.
There were talks of Ajax recalling Forbs in January, although an agreement couldn’t be reached, and the former Manchester City gem remained in Wolverhampton.
While Pereira thinks highly of Forbs, the manager admits that he will have to learn to play wing-back to fit into his system, something he doesn’t feel ‘comfortable’ doing.
“I like his personality a lot and he has good skills,” Pereira said via the E&S. “But Carlos is a player, to play in our system now, that cannot play inside because he doesn’t feel comfortable.
“He needs to play on the sides, one against one, he’s fast. But to defend in our system he must do things that he doesn’t feel comfortable doing.
“He cannot do what Rayan is doing in this moment, to go and come back, because he’s not a player with these qualities.
“We had a conversation together and he will try to learn how to defend in our way and I will help him to improve his level.”
What Matt Hobbs said about Forbs after he signed
The signing of Forbs has been a disaster. But when Wolves initially captured the youngster with an option to buy, there was some excitement surrounding his signature.
Sporting director Matt Hobbs was delighted with Forbs, feeling he could bring an injection of pace and technical qualities to the squad.
“He’s quick and wants to run in behind,” Hobbs said. “He’s technically good, with the education he had, but he’s really direct, good one versus one, will look to stretch teams and with that pace will give us something we probably haven’t got.
“We have it with Rodrigo, but he likes to come inside and play inside the pitch, whereas Carlos really wants to go one versus one and get at defenders.”
Sadly, Wolves fans have only seen a glimpse of Forbs’ qualities in his seven months at Molineux, and they’re unlikely to witness him playing for the club ever again.
Vitor Pereira unpacks conversation with Wolves player, admits he ‘doesn’t feel comfortable’ with what he’s been asked to do
