Bruno Lage believes Matheus Nunes’ improved showing against Southampton is the natural result of time and training with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Wolves’ £38 million record signing Matheus produced a significantly improved performance in the 1-0 victory over Saints and assisted Daniel Podence’s winning goal. Matheus also teed up further chances for Pedro Neto in his best Wolves outing to date.
“That comes with time, training and performances,” said Lage. “At around 60, 65 minutes I looked at him, ‘Maybe he’s tired’, then he came with more energy. He did two or three good transitions, completely different to the transitions he did against Newcastle.”
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All eyes were on Wolves debutant Sasa Kalajdzic after he was handed a surprise start just days after joining the club from Stuttgart. Lage has revealed Kalajdzic was selected due to Raul Jimenez suffering from ‘chronic fatigue’. Jimenez was named in the squad but he was replaced on the bench by Chem Campbell shortly before kick-off.
Kalajdzic, who stands at an eye-catching 6ft 7ins, quickly became embroiled in a battle with Southampton centre-backs Mohammed Salisu and Armel Bella-Kotchap. He was left with a bloody mouth after being sandwiched by Salisu and Bella-Kotchap before he was substituted due to a knee injury Lage doesn’t believe is serious.
Asked how he thought Kalajdzic coped with the physicality of Saints’ defenders, Lage responded: “One of my assistants said, ‘Now you understand the Premier League’ and he said, ‘Let them come’.
"It was 45 minutes for him to adapt. I also follow the Bundelisga and that league has the intensity and the aerial duels. He knows the Premier League is special because of that - every game he will play against top defenders.”
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