The turning point in Wolves’ season was dismissing Gary O’Neil and appointing Vitor Pereira, but it was made easier by Emmanuel Agbadou’s January arrival.
Wolves signed Agbadou for just £16.6 million from Stade Reims just four months ago, and since then, the Ivorian has become an integral figure in Vitor Pereira’s back three.
The 27-year-old missed just two Premier League games from the middle of January as Wolves secured survival and a 16th-place finish in the table.
With his hulking figure, incredible strength and ability on the ball, Agbadou was praised as ‘brilliant’ by Jamie Carragher for his impact.
Wolves struggled defensively before the Ivory Coast international joined the club, but his presence at the back made a huge difference, and he was inarguably key to survival. Now, Pereira has explained how he convinced the Wanderers hierarchy to sign him.
Photo by Jack Thomas - WWFC/Wolves via Getty Images
Photo by Jack Thomas – WWFC/Wolves via Getty Images
Vitor Pereira explains Emmanuel Agbadou’s tactical importance
In many ways, Agbadou was the missing piece to Pereira’s jigsaw puzzle in January. He already had the magic of Matheus Cunha and the robust midfield duo of Joao Gomes and Andre, but he didn’t have a towering presence controlling his back line.
Pereira had to rely on Santiago Bueno, who is limited physically, to operate in central defence next to Matt Doherty and Toti Gomes.
However, the Portuguese boss explained how Agbadou’s ability in one-versus-one situations was the catalyst to their improvement as it enabled them to press high up the pitch.
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Speaking on the Wolves Unpacked podcast, the Wolves manager said: “That’s why, in January, I tried to convince the club to go for Agba. You know why? Because, if you look for our game, you see when we are defending, imagine, we see, sometimes we see a line five, other times, doing a jump as a midfielder, to press higher, and we play, we defend, with line four.
“And sometimes, when we go to press, when we go to press higher, we play with line three. It means, some moments in the game, especially when we are in transition, we must play three against three. And because we have the goalkeeper is the fourth one.
“The goalkeeper is the guy to cover the space on the back. But to play, you must have the confidence and the skills to play one against one.”
Agbadou is one of the Premier League’s best at winning duels, hence why Pereira places trust in him to win the battle against an opposition attacker.
Pereira hints at where Agbadou can improve
For all of the physical elements he possesses, there are still some areas where the former Stade Reims star can improve.
In the defeat to Crystal Palace earlier this month, Wolves fans criticised Agbadou’s passing as he continuously gave the ball away needlessly.
Liam Keen even said Agbadou was ‘nowhere near’ his usual standards against Palace, despite opening his account for the club.
Pereira has even noticed that the defensive powerhouse can often have lapses in concentration on the ball, stating sometimes he can have ‘too much’ confidence.
When discussing Agbadou’s issues in possession, Pereira added: “Because he’s a player who has the confidence, sometimes too much.
“He has the confidence to play, he has the confidence to defend, because he’s big, his physicality is big, he’s strong, but he’s fast. In short space, he’s fast. It means that we can play with Totti the same.
“Toti can play, and Doc can play also. It’s important for us, when we are three against three, we can solve the situation, we can deal with the situation.”