Welcome to Wolves Enso Gonzalez

[Johnny75]

I'm more excited about Bellegarde, though Gonzalez does look very skillful. The big question with all diminutive players is if he can handle the physicality of the PL.

You've not seen either player have you?

 

[Freddeno]

You've not seen either player have you?

Bet nobody have

 

[Johnny75]

Bet nobody have

Fair.

 

[The Bear]

From this E&S write-up it sounds like he'll likely be used on the right hand side, but is very raw and still physically undeveloped to cope with the PL yet.

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To learn more about Wolves’ new South American wonderkid we spoke to Roberto Rojas, a Paraguayan football expert from DAZN, for some insight into the winger.


How would you describe Gonzalez as a player?
I would describe him as a player with a lot of talent that I certainly didn’t expect him to make this big jump to Europe a year from his professional debut at Libertad.

However, it certainly proves that Wolves have a real gem on their hands if they’re able to use him properly.

Overall he’s a good kid living the dream playing in England and making Paraguayans very proud.

What position is he best suited to?
He’s best suited on the right wing but can play a multitude of positions depending on what system works best for him.

He can function either as a winger, a second striker, an attacking midfielder or even a midfielder on both flanks.

What are his strengths and weaknesses?
He’s a very quick player. Blessed with bags of speed but also a tendency to not be afraid about beating his man one-on-one.

He has the ability to create passes out of nowhere to break between the lines and also isn’t afraid to shoot on to goal when necessary.

Despite him being small for most modern Premier League footballers, he’s also good in the air but can also help on the defensive side to help his team gain possession. He always wants the ball.

From a weakness standpoint, he’s very raw. As I mentioned beforehand, he hasn’t played even a full year of senior football before making the jump to England so I’m curious to see how someone who is very short but also a bit skinny is able to adapt to a huge physical difference from Paraguay to the Premier League.

Did you expect him to get a big move to the Premier League so early in his career?
No, absolutely not. He had potential but I certainly didn’t expect him to make that jump so soon and become one of a few handful of Paraguayan players to apply their trade in English football.

It’s not a jump that most Paraguayan players tend to do as they usually go to Brazil, Argentina, Mexico and the United States before trying it out in Europe but it shows that Wolves are taking a chance on him as someone they clearly rated highly.

How will he cope mentally and physically with the Premier League?
It’s going to be a huge challenge for him. When he was at Libertad, the most he travelled outside of Paraguay was Brazil.

This is his first time outside of the continent, let alone Europe and England.

That being said, he seems very keen about the opportunity and honoured to play for a club like Wolverhampton Wanderers and achieving the dream to play in the Premier League, so he will take every advantage he gets to impress his team-mates and Gary O’Neil.

What is he like as a character?
He’s a very calm character. He comes from a very humble background in Asuncion, growing up very middle to working class, who applied his trade playing futsal before going to 11–a-side.

He isn’t someone that is very aggressive but for an 18-year-old he’s incredibly mature and I think he’s very much someone that will learn the ins and outs of what it takes to make it in European football, so hopefully alongside team-mates that will allow him to grow into an even better player.

Can you draw any comparisons with him and Julio Enciso?
They’re very similar in terms of size and potential but he plays more like Miguel Almiron. That said, I do see something of a hybrid of Julio Enciso but I think Julio has more of an upside and better talent about him than Enso, but the flip side is that he’s a more calm figure than Julio. So very similar but I think Enso is much more mature.

How do you see his career progressing?
Hopefully at a point where he can become an important player for Paraguay as they look to qualify back to a World Cup for the first time since 2010 but if Wolves are taking the chance of putting him on the first team, it could mean that they are building for the future and wanting to use young players to help them survive this Premier League season.

I wouldn’t be surprised if a loan deal happens in the winter or next summer to get him some playing minutes but fingers crossed he can play a key role for Wolves in the first team. All will obviously depend on how he impresses Gary O’Neil and the rest of the coaching staff but I have high hopes he can do it.

 

[leedswolf]

I imagine that Semedo's time at Barca meant he can speak Spanish.

Or Catalan...

 

[leedswolf]

It's close enough to understand each other. I listened to a few of Nunoa conferences and understood most

Really?

 

[leedswolf]

I expect the vast majority of our Portuguese players speak Spanish, or certainly understand it almost fluently.

Not necessarily. I work with a lot of Portugeuse people in Jersey. Hardly any speak or understand Spanish.

 

[Alan]

Not necessarily. I work with a lot of Portugeuse people in Jersey. Hardly any speak or understand Spanish.

I've got some Portuguese coworkers who are practically offended that the language spoken in Brazil has "Portuguese" in the name.

They swear the two aren't related.

 

[C.L.D]

who applied his trade playing futsal before going to 11–a-side.

O Captain my captain!

 

[Tony Towner]

Top notch professionalism.

The winger, who is still learning English, was being helped on the sidelines by under-18s assistant James McPike, who has been learning Spanish using language app Duolingo for more than three-and-a-half years.

Wolves midfielder Bruno Jordao commended for 'drive, personality and character'

Bruno Jordao has shown 'drive, personality and character' in the face of his first team snub, according to Wolves under-21 head coach James Collins.

www.expressandstar.com

 

[Alan]

We’re a very buttoned up outfit aren’t we

 

[Kenny]

and Deutsch spent all those years at Uni learning language...

On this one though, that does just mean when he is playing/training McPike is on hand to help rather than sitting down with him on a daily basis to teach him how to speak proper, which is fine

 

[Tony Towner]

I'm sure he'll have more support than that, it just made me laugh. LL is clearly impressed though

 

[Kenny]

The inclusion of Duolingo must be "shit I am a few words short of the count my bosses need"

It really only needed to be said he had been learning Spanish for 3 and half years. Chucking in the rest will lead many to think we just download the players an app and off you pop,...come back when you can tell us a lion is trying to eat your sandwich and you will be in 1st team squad then...not before

 

[Del Woppio]

Why not just pay for him to have actual lessons ffs, it'll be a useful skill, and surely can't have escaped the club's attention that we've recently sacked a Spanish coaching team

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

I'd imagine we are doing that.

Just there's a fairly large gap between turning up to class in September and understanding what someone's yelling at you from 40 yards away in October. Such an odd thing to get wound up about.

Consider yourself lucky that someone complained about the Lage emoji.

 

[Del Woppio]

Sorry I meant a permanent staff member, having Spanish, Portuguese and I guess French languages on the coaching staff would be really useful considering where we're recruiting from and could help players settle better

 

[Deutsch Wolf]

You don't know who's going to be any good at that (not to cast aspersions on the bloke, but would you send Shaun Derry for Spanish lessons?), McPike isn't a first team coach either so what happens when Enso isn't spending any time with the U21s further down the line...

Duolingo is one of the less objectionable linguistic shortcuts, so long as you recognise it for what it is, and ultimately it's on Enso to adapt to living and working in England.

 

[ROVERT47]

Could get big fat Ron Atkinson involved.

 

[SSB]

...come back when you can tell us a lion is trying to eat your sandwich and you will be in 1st team squad then...not before

This made me smile from my limited use of Duolingo when I thought learning a new language during lockdown was a good idea.