Vitinha will take to the pitch tonight for Paris Saint-Germain against Aston Villa in the Champions League quarter-final, and plenty of Wolves fans will again be tuning in to watch the former Molineux loanee.
Vitinha has developed into one of the top midfield players in the world in recent times.
Now 25, the Santo Turso-born maestro has blossomed over the past few years and stands to play a big part tonight in the first leg against Villa.
From a Wolves point of view, it’s fascinating to see that he has reached this point.
Famously, Wolves turned down the chance to sign Vitinha in the summer of 2021 for around £17 million after a loan spell at the club under Nuno Espirito Santo.
And ahead of tonight’s game, Nuno Espirito Santo has dropped his verdict on Vitinha, and also explaining why he didn’t play him much at Molineux.
Nuno Espirito Santo suggests Joao Moutinho prevented ‘amazing’ Vitinha from playing more for Wolves during 20/21 loan
Ahead of the 2020/21 season, Vitinha arrived on loan from FC Porto.
Vitinha had a lot of promise, and there was optimism that he’d be able to make himself a regular starter.
Ultimately, there were a couple of reasons Wolves didn’t sign Vitinha. The first was that they felt his performances didn’t convince, and the second was that the club were then in the market for other players in his position.
Some felt Nuno should have played him more, but the former Wolves boss can certainly see how good he is now.
He said: “He is an amazing player. In Portugal we are fortunate to have players like him and (PSG team-mate) Joao Neves.
“For sure his time at Wolves was important. because he brought things to his game that you cannot find anywhere outside the Premier League. The physicality, the intensity of the game improves the players.
“Everybody saw the talent was there. Then you have to consider the impact of the physicality. We signed him when he was 20, and he was just getting used to the senior level, which was a big impact.
“And I have to be honest with you: we had Joao Moutinho, another amazing player. Sometimes young players who join can have the talent, but sometimes it is about the coach who makes the decisions.
“At that time, the midfield was Moutinho and Ruben Neves, so it was not easy for Vitinha. But he played a lot of games, went back to Porto and his level started rising and rising, improving. Now it is a joy to see how he is doing at PSG.”
What struck Wolves staff about Vitinha
Essentially, there were just not enough opportunities for Vitinha to convince Wolves to buy him.
While Vitinha didn’t shine statistically, he did still catch the eye behind the scenes.
The Daily Mail reports that he struck Wolves staff with the way he carried himself.
It’s stated he had ‘huge self-confidence’, but was able to contain his frustrations about not playing regularly.
The maturity of the player also impressed people. He had good English, and ‘spoke it with confidence and was chatty and engaging with everyone’.
If anything, these claims will leave Wolves fans even more perplexed as to why the club did not just take a gamble on him.
