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At the end of an ultimately successful week Wolves manager Bruno Lage was tired. So tired he mentioned it multiple times.
Tired, having spent hours trying to work on different plans to counteract a Southampton side capable of playing numerous formations. Tired, having spent hours trying to devise a solution to his lack of a left-sided central defender.
At a time when countless fringe and young players have been left wondering what is the point of their existence as they are overlooked even when their clubs’ squads are being stretched, Lage’s approach should have been noted well beyond Wolves.
Toti Gomes earned a shock call-up to the Wolves XI and impressed against Southampton
The Molineux side bagged a crucial 3-1 victory over the Saints despite struggling for numbers
And one of the men he turned to was so inexperienced at Premier League level and in English football that Lage’s selection of Tote Gomes should be an example to some of his managerial colleagues in this current climate of (occasionally questionable) Covid postponements that they might not know what talent is lurking among players until they give them a try.
The Portuguese defender, 23 on Sunday, joined Wolves in 2020 to little fanfare. He was so little-known that his selection against Southampton sparked ‘who is Tote Gomes?’ articles and questions about the name he more commonly goes by — Toti.
He had been on loan at Grasshoppers
