Cesar Peixoto believes new signing Joao Virginia will take Wolves’ goalkeeping department to another level.
The Portuguese followed fellow stopper John Ruddy through the Compton Park doors this week, spelling his return to England, where he spent ten years of his career as a youngster at Arsenal and Everton.
That knowledge of the English game appealed to Peixoto, who sees a goalkeeper hungry to improve both himself and the club he’s playing for, which the head coach believes will be beneficial to the Old Gold.
On bringing Virginia in
“Joao has a lot of potential to grow, knows England very well and has a lot of quality – he played in the Champions League last season. We have different characteristics in the department, and a good level of goalkeepers.
“He is hungry to be successful, to work hard, to bring experience because he knows the Championship and English football. He has a lot of quality, but wants the opportunity to grow up, to play more games and it’s a hunger to improve. I want this kind of mentality in each position, to fight each other, to stay more competitive in the week, so at the weekend they’re more competitive against the opening teams. This kind of competition inside the team is very, very important.”
On knowing the English game
“He knows English football, and at big teams. He knows the expectation and pressure of playing to win game after game at his last club, and because of that it’s easier to adapt to our club and to adapt to the football English football because he’s played here for 10 years. It’s going to be easy to adapt and to be ready to help the team.
“He is very secure, very good in the box. He knows the game, has good experience in the past from the Premier League and Sporting, and has a lot of potential to fight to play in the team.”
On arriving with a good pedigree
“He has the mentality, the quality to improve the department, and his pedigree is very important. We don’t want to sign players just to be one more, they must come to improve the team, improve the level, with the right characters, not only the pitch, but outside the pitch it’s very, very important for me to build a strong group.
“When I talked with him before he came, I felt this hunger to fight, to play, to improve his level, to stay at our club. It feels like a big opportunity for him and we are happy because he's a good goalkeeper, a good person also, and he’s going work hard to help the team.”
