Sometimes in football, players join clubs and their quality is immediately clear.
Wolves crashed to another defeat in the Premier League on Saturday, losing 3-1 to Aston Villa.
It was another case of Wolves taking the lead, but then stepping off the gas and inviting pressure.
It was the second Premier League game running that Wolves went on to lose after taking the lead, and many fans are very frustrated.
Gary O’Neil has had credit on the bank, but the manager now finds himself under pressure, with fans concerned about the team’s standards dropping in games.
Against Villa though, there was one shining light – and that was Andre.
Andre shone for Wolves against Aston Villa
Andre was Wolves’ penultimate signing of the summer window, joining from Fluminense for a fee of £21 million.
It was not initially the plan to sign a new defensive midfielder. But Wolves pushed ahead with the move and did not sign a new centre-back.
That is looking like a decision that will sting. But Andre has certainly impressed in his first two appearances.
The star made headlines against Newcastle United for completing all 40 of the passes he attempted – which was the most by any player making their first Premier League start in the history of the competition.
Andre was impressively tidy on the ball once again against Villa.
As per Sofascore data, Andre nearly matched the perfect pass competition rate he recorded against Newcastle. He completed 37/39 (95%) against Villa.
Andre wasn’t just great in possession though. He also won all eight of the duels he contested, and had five defensive actions (three tackles, one interception and one block). He was not dribbled past a single time.
Andre may not be at Wolves for long
Wolves fans would be wise not to get too attached to Andre, because realistically, this is a player who already looks destined to play for a club that competes regularly for silverware.
Wolves have lost their last two games against Newcastle and Villa, but Andre has been a class-act in both of those defeats.
His use of the ball is superb. Not only that, he is also impressively press-resistant and also tenacious. In a way, he is like Joao Gomes, Mario Lemina and Tommy Doyle all rolled into one.
Wolves snapping him up for just £21 million ahead of other big clubs is scarcely believable.
It is already shaping up to be a real slog of a season for Wolves and unless there is a dramatic turnaround and the club end up pushing for Europe, it’s hard to see Andre being at Molineux for very long.
He’s only played two games. But you can already see his quality and why it is that a number of clubs wanted him in the summer.
