Wolverhampton Wanderers' midfield has seen quite a big transformation in recent seasons. Having had Joao Moutinho, Ruben Neves and Leander Dendoncker battling it out among the best players in the Premier League in the middle of the park, supporters now watch Mario Lemina, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and Joao Gomes regularly.
Moutinho, in particular, was a symbol that Wolves meant business under the Fosun Group. Having played at clubs such as Porto, Monaco and Sporting CP, the acquisition of the experienced midfielder made a few clubs stand up and take notice, given Nuno Espirito Santo's side were just promoted to the top-flight when the Portugal international joined the club for merely £5m.
The Midlands club certainly got their money's worth as the veteran remained at Molineux for five seasons before departing on a free during the recent summer window. However, the club may currently possess the heir to Moutinho's throne.
Moutinho's stats at Wolves
Despite being on the wrong side of 30 when he joined from Monaco in 2018, Moutinho went on to make 212 appearances for Wolves throughout his five-year stint at the club which is more than he made at Porto. Interestingly, in all five Premier League campaigns, the Portuguese midfielder missed merely 15 games, playing all 38 league matches in his first two seasons.
Despite having three managers at Molineux, Moutinho maintained his place in the team right up until the very end.
2022/23
36
2,074
2021/22
39
3,206
2020/21
36
2,781
2019/20
57
4,598
2018/19
44
3,444
Stats via Transfermarkt
There was a slight drop in game-time towards the end of his spell with Wolves, but this is understandable given he was 36 when he left the club a few months back. Furthermore, at Wolves, Moutinho became a key creative outlet for the team, recording 25 assists for the club, including 21 in his first two seasons, according to Transfermarkt.
Wolves have tried to replicate Moutinho's quality on the pitch by purchasing Joao Gomes from Brazilian outfit Flamengo back in January for £15m but no player has quite managed to reach his standards just yet. However, there may be one youngster out on loan who is waiting to fill the Portuguese's boots.
Luke Cundle's stats this season
Having broken through the academy in 2019 to make his competitive debut, Luke Cundle featured seven times for the Old Gold overall before being handed the first loan spell of his infant career at Swansea City in the Championship. It was in Wales that the Swans' former head coach Russell Martin was left hugely wholly impressed with Cundle's ability, describing the player as "intelligent" and "technically gifted".
Upon returning, the 21-year-old wasn't in Wolves boss Gary O'Neil's plans for the forthcoming season and was sent back out on a temporary basis, this time to newly promoted second-tier outfit Plymouth Argyle. With the Pilgrims, Cundle has been excelling and has bagged four goals and five assists in 18 appearances in all competitions, which is more goal contributions than any other Wolves player.
Statistically, the Wolves loanee is performing better than Gomes this season and is keeping up with Moutinho's record from the previous campaign.
Goals
0.33
0
0
Expected Goals
0.16
0.03
0.07
Assists
0.55
0
0.1
Expected Assists
0.13
0.04
0.1
Progressive Passes
3.63
2.84
6.67
Progressive Carries
1.98
0.53
1.16
Progressive Passes Received
5.05
0.53
1.62
Key Passes
2.09
1.89
5.3
Passes To Penalty Area
0.44
0.63
1.16
Passes To Final 1/3
3.52
1.89
5.3
Pass Completion %
83.4
81.7
80.4
Stats via FBref
In possession, the 5 foot 7 Cundle is much closer to the diminutive Moutinho than Gomes and is a more similar player to the parted Portuguese than the Brazilian. Given his impressive displays for Plymouth, O'Neil should certainly look to bring Cundle back as soon as possible to be the rightful, yet perhaps surprise heir to the veteran's throne.