The inside track on £17m Wolves man Daniel Podence

His signing from Greek outfit Olympiakos is all but confirmed after a medical today, and here, we give you the lowdown on him.

Patricio’s former team-mate

While Wolves are signing him after 18 successful months in Athens, Podence spent his formative years with Sporting Lisbon in his homeland.

And there, he was team-mates with gold and black goalkeeper Rui Patricio.

They won two trophies together as well – the Taca de Portugal in 2014/15 and the Taca de Liga in 2017/18.

Like Patricio, Podence left the club not long after Sporting’s players were attacked by around 50 masked hooligans at the training ground.

The 5ft 5in forward’s time at Sporting consisted of 40 senior appearances.

He did not score in those, but found the net on four occasions in an 18-game loan spell at Moreirense – also in the Primeira Liga – in 2016/17.

Podence won the Taca de Liga with them too, so he has already managed to get his hands on three trophies in his young career.

Will he add some more silverware during his time at Wolves?

Greek adventure

Podence joined Olympiakos in the summer of 2018 as part of a Portuguese influx at the Athens-based side.

Pedro Martins took charge around the same time, goalkeeper Jose Sa was signed and defender Roderick Miranda joined them on loan – from Wolves, of course.

With a few compatriots around to help him out, Podence soon found his feet and opened his account against Burnley in Europa League qualifying.

He ended last season with eight goals in all competitions, with Olympiakos finishing second in the Super League behind PAOK.

Earlier this term, Podence helped Martins’ men reach the group stages of the Champions League.

He caught the eye in the competition as well, scoring in a 2-2 draw against Tottenham.

Podence played a lovely one-two with Mathieu Valbuena before drilling the ball into the far corner.

He also scored in a 4-0 qualifying win against Krasnodar and his imminent Wolves arrival comes after a total of 13 goals in 68 matches for the Greek team.

Portugal exploits

It may come as a surprise, but Podence is yet to gain a senior Portugal cap.

He has, though, represented his nation at various age groups – under-16 all the way through to under-21.

For the under-21s, the man who can play on the right, left or as a No.10 scored three in nine.

His time with them stands him in good stead for coming to Wolves as well, as he has experience playing alongside Ruben Neves and Diogo Jota.

Podence will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of those two by breaking into Portugual’s senior set-up – by putting in some stellar displays for Wolves – soon.

Mendes client

Ecuadorian centre forward Leonardo Campana, although for the under-23s at first, was brought in by Wolves earlier in the window.

He is a client of super-agent Jorge Mendes, and so is Podence.

Neves, Jota, Joao Moutinho and Pedro Neto – soon to be Podence’s team-mates – are also part of the Gestifute agency.

In summary

Podence, then, very much appears to fit the Wolves mould – a player with massive potential, but also with enough experience to make an impact in the short term.

His versatility – ability to play across the frontline – will please Nuno Espirito Santo too. Let’s see how he gets on at Molineux.