Joao Gomes: I made the right decision joining Wolves

Wolves had a deal agreed with Flamengo for the midfielder, before the Brazilian club pulled out after French side Lyon made a slightly higher offer.

After sticking to their original deal and taking advantage of the ‘Free Joao Gomes’ campaign that started on social media, Wolves finally landed their man in January and made stickers and t-shirts donning the new slogan.

“I was torn between Wolverhampton and another offer I had on the table,” Gomes said.

“The campaign was one of the things that made me stop and reflect on what to do and really weighed my final decision.

“Everyone who has supported me offered all the love I needed for me to come and play to the best of my ability, which is what really matters.

“It has always been a dream and a wish come true to play in the Premier League but the people who have welcomed me here made all the difference.

“Matheus Cunha, Diego Costa, Matheus Nunes and Toti have given all the support I needed.

“There have been times when Cunha rang me to hang out at his place because I was on my own, so I definitely think they have helped with my adaptation and to perform better. I need to work harder and harder to help Wolves to become a threat.”

Julen Lopetegui has taken a shine to Gomes, but limited his minutes after his move to allow the 22-year-old to adapt to his new surroundings.

Gomes scored a winner against Southampton on his debut, and since then Wolves have now risen up the league and are on the cusp of securing safety.

He added“We had a meeting with Lopetegui and he said that our main objective was to stay in the Premier League and that was clear to all of us.

“But as we grow our ambitions and aim higher, we can then see that there is a real chance for us to get further up the table.

“He has mostly changed the way we play by having more possession. When we play at home, we now put more pressure on our opponents and don’t just hide away from a challenge.

“I think this is one of the main things he brought, searching for the ball more and putting pressure on our opponents.”

On his debut goal Gomes said: “I always dreamt about that moment. One day before the game, I dreamt that I would score but not in the circumstances we were playing: with one less player on the pitch and one goal behind.

“It was a really special night for several reasons but mainly due to the three points we needed because we were playing against Southampton, one of our big opponents, so it was beyond important to score and to win.”