Wolves fought off competition from Chelsea to land Pedro Lima in the summer.
Lima was the club’s second addition of the summer, arriving after Rodrigo Gomes from Brazilian club Sport Recife for around £8.5 million.
Lima had been lined up for a move to Stamford Bridge but made the move to Molineux in the end. Matt Hobbs claimed Wolves sold Lima a more appropriate project, with the suggestion being that he would have a better pathway to regular first-team football.
But so far this season, we’ve barely seen Lima.
He played a part in pre-season and caught the eye with his pace and energy.
But Lima has made just two appearances in the Carabao Cup so far, and has yet to make his Premier League debut for Wolves – and it looks as though he could be waiting a while.
O’Neil suggests Pedro Lima may not make Premier League debut this season
Pedro Lima of Wolverhampton Wanderers during a Wolverhampton Wanderers Training Session at The Sir Jack Hayward Training Ground on October 15, 2024...
Photo by Jack Thomas – WWFC/Wolves via Getty Images
O’Neil has been speaking ahead of the game with West Ham United tonight, which could well be his final game in charge.
Many expected O’Neil to be sacked after the defeat to Everton.
But despite all the speculation, O’Neil has been given the game against West Ham United and he’ll hope a victory can keep him in the job – although, it’s very possible he could still be sacked regardless.
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One man we surely won’t be seeing at the London Stadium tonight is Lima, with O’Neil making a rather disappointing suggestion about the Brazilian.
He said (via E&S): “We’re working hard to get them ready as quickly as possible, but Pedro Lima was not signed to help the Premier League campaign this season.”
O’Neil had been asked whether Wolves had enough leaders in the squad when he spoke about having a number of young players.
He also suggested that the likes of Rodrigo Gomes and Carlos Forbs are only going to have minor roles this season due to their inexperience.
Lima claim is disappointing
No one really expected Lima to play a huge amount in his first season at Wolves.
But O’Neil’s comments here are bound to disappoint a few people, especially given the poor form of Matt Doherty this season.
We know Nelson Semedo is going to play pretty much every game he’s available for. But Lima’s lack of involvement so far has been a bit of a shame.
Pedro Lima for Wolves so far
Appearances – 2
Mintues played – 154
Goals – 0
Assists – 1
But clearly, it was never the plan to involve him much, and seemingly we will see him very little, if at all, in the Premier League.
Some will find that hard to accept given how lively he looked in pre-season, when he faced Premier League opposition like West Ham – against whom he made a fantastic assist for Rodrigo.
But who knows, perhaps if O’Neil does get sacked, a new manager will take a different view of Lima and look to involve him more.
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