Vitor Pereira has enjoyed a solid first couple of months at Wolves. The Portuguese tactician has dragged the Old Gold nine points clear of the bottom three, making some huge decisions along the way.
In the January transfer window, his man management of Mario Lemina was superb. Lemina refused to play against Newcastle, and from that moment on, the Gabon international was frozen out of the squad.
Although there were talks of Vitor Pereira reintegrating the midfielder following the incident, Lemina instead completed a £2.5 million transfer to Galatasaray in February, ending his two-year stint at Molineux.
The decision over Lemina’s future wasn’t the only big call he made during that month, as Pereira left Craig Dawson out of his Premier League squad.
There was no longer space for the veteran defender after the signings of Emmanuel Agbadou, Nasser Djiga and Marshall Munetsi but the call has now been vindicated.
Photo by Jack Thomas - WWFC/Wolves via Getty Images
Photo by Jack Thomas – WWFC/Wolves via Getty Images
Craig Dawson is the Premier League’s second-slowest player
Steve Bull was surprised by Dawson’s exclusion from the squad, seeing the defender’s experience and qualities as important in the relegation battle.
But, towards the end of Gary O’Neil’s tenure, the 34-year-old was showing signs that he was on the decline. Dawson was abysmal against Everton, scoring two own goals in the game, and he was even linked with a move to Leicester City in January.
While the decision from Pereira split opinion, Opta have ranked the Premier League’s five slowest players this season and Dawson is second, clocking a top speed of 29.6 km/h.
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Five slowest players in the Premier League
Rank Player Top speed
1 Bernardo Silva 29.4 km/h
2 Craig Dawson 29.6 km/h
3 Mikel Merino 29.8 km/h
4 Casemiro 30.2 km/h
5 Tomas Soucek 30.2 km/h
Wolves lacked athleticism in their back line when the Englishman was a regular fixture, though the signing of Agbadou has completely transformed their defence.
Wolves have already replaced Dawson
It was seen as brutal axing a player who has been a brilliant servant to the club since arriving from West Ham in January 2023.
But in the battle against relegation, there is no time for sentiment, and with Dawson’s contract expiring in 2025, it was seen as the best call to leave him out.
Wolves fans were surprised by the decision, seeing as though Pereira opted to choose four goalkeepers instead, although he perhaps had the future in mind.
Emmanuel Agbadou has been a revelation since arriving from Stade Reims, and the 27-year-old was joined by Djiga, who is an exciting prospect.
It’s a shame that Dawson’s Wolves career is ending on a sour note, as he had a brilliant rapport with the fans but sometimes the difficult decisions have to be made.