Vitor Pereira has now explained why he substituted midfielder Marshall Munetsi at half-time during Wolves’ draw against Everton.
Wolves signed Munetsi from Stade Reims on transfer deadline day and was one of three new players to come through the doors at Molineux.
The 28-year-old has since become influential as an attacking midfielder, coming close to scoring on numerous occasions but finally breaking his duck on Saturday night.
Munetsi scored his first goal against Everton, calmly slotting his chance past Jordan Pickford after being found superbly by Jean-Ricner Bellegarde.
But the midfielders’ night was sadly cut short when Vitor Pereira substituted him at half-time, and the Portuguese tactician has now explained why.
Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
Photo by Simon Stacpoole/Offside/Offside via Getty Images
Marshall Munetsi ‘felt something’ against Everton
Wolves fans have experienced their fair share of injury troubles in recent times, so when Munetsi was taken off for Pablo Sarabia at the interval, they feared the worst.
Fortunately, in Pereira’s assessment of the Zimbabwe international at full-time, it didn’t sound like a serious problem, claiming he just ‘felt something’ and didn’t want to risk him in the second half.
“He deserved the goal but it was a pity he felt something in the first half and we cannot take risks with him,” Pereira said via BBC Sport.
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The Wolves manager also praised Munetsi, highlighting his spirit as a positive and predicting to build on his first strike at Molineux.
“He has the spirit that I like in a player,” Pereira added. “He did everything to help the team and he will definitely score more goals.”
Wolves travel to Southampton in the Premier League next weekend, and hopefully, Pereira’s No.5 is fully recovered to start at St Mary’s.
Munetsi is exactly what Wolves needed
A goal-scoring midfielder is hard to come by in the transfer market without paying the premium. But Wolves paid just £16 million for Munetsi, and that is already looking like a bargain.
Physically, he’s so powerful and capable of winning battles against his opponents, while his movement and ability to sniff out chances are commendable attributes.
For most of his Wolves career so far, he’s spurned some golden chances, but tonight he showed composure in the box to score and long may it continue.
Although Wolves have been reliant on Cunha, it’s refreshing to see others step up to the plate, as Munetsi is easily someone who could hit double figures for goals in a season.