Wolverhampton Wanderers, in their attempt to bolster the attack, are favourites to land the Benfica ‘star’ forward Gonçalo Ramos this summer.
Gonçalo Ramos is a 21-year-old Portuguese Forward, who plays for Benfica and Portugal U21. He came through the ranks of the youth teams of Olhanense and CB Loulé, in Portugal, before joining SL Benfica in 2013. Ramos spent almost seven years in the youth sides of Benfica, before signing his first professional contract with the club in 2020. Even then, he was nowhere near breaking into the Benfica squad. And the manager of the Portuguese side at the time, Bruno Lage, did not think that Ramos was ready for the first team, just yet!
So, the Portuguese-born forward played in the Liga Sabseg, or the 2nd Tier Portuguese League. Despite all the chaos he went through, Goncalo Ramos was able to shine in the 2nd Division, scoring 11 goals in total. And finally, this led to him getting a run-in, in the main squad for Benfica. In the 2020/21 season, he played four games for Benfica and scored two goals, this was a lot considering he made the most out of the given opportunities and showed that he has a knack for scoring goals – be it in whichever league!
In the recent season, however, Ramos got a good chunk of top-tier football experience. But that too was largely hindered because of the so-called Darwin Nunez’ fairy-tale season. Still though, Gonçalo Ramos was able to chuck out 46 games off the whole season. Him getting this amount of games was not just due to a situation-or something. Rather, the 21-year-old forward proved his worth, to the extent that in a fair amount of games Benfica literally lined-up with Ramos and Nunez both starting and the former playing as a Second Striker or as an Attacking Midfielder. Yes! Indeed, he has got this amount of versatility in him.
Gonçalo Ramos: Best move for Wolverhampton Wanderers this summer?
So overall, it might be safe to say that- “We understand why Wolves are ready to go for Ramos this summer.” YES! That is what is being reported, of late… Multiple reports (both in the UK, and in Portugal) suggest that Wolves are favourites to sign Benfica’s Gonçalo Ramos this summer. Also, the reports claim that it is only a “one horse race” with Ramos’ destination being the Molineux stadium, or NO MOVE AT ALL!
Key elements to the deal are: firstly, the fact that Lage knows Ramos from his Benfica days. Second being the whole Wolves’ lackluster attack, last season. They have been lacking that creativity in the attack, and a player of Ramos’ versatility could bring whole new energy to a dead-looking frontline. Benfica have set a massive £102 million release clause in Ramos’ contract, which will be triggered at the end of the 2022/23 season. So if the player decides to stay here in Portugal for another season, it will be hard for any team to lay their hands on him because of the massive Release clause- but it also indicates how highly the club rates Ramos . So, if Wolves want him, this summer window might be their only chance!
Gonçalo Ramos (20 years, 297 days) = second youngest player to score in the Champions League knockout phase for Benfica ⚽️@slbenfica_en | #UCL pic.twitter.com/WXtGcl7NbD
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) April 18, 2022
This goal is the best example to illustrate Ramos’ game reading skills. He saw that Nunez had moved a bit backwards to receive the ball, so he intelligently moved in to fill in that space- in just a few seconds as the play was building. This movement catches the Liverpool defence off-guard, and the Portuguese forward just finished past Alisson in the near post.
Gonçalo Ramos’ this particular goal could also be used to explain his Firmino-esque playstyle. Being able to build-up the game from deep, and if required, just taking that striker role to finish up attacks. However, apart from that, it is rather a bit easy to see that Ramos is a physically stronger version of Firmino. That extra strength allows the Portuguese International to just shrug off his markers with ease.
An industrious striker, who presses the defences to their core and a tactically sound attacker-cum-striker. It will be interesting to see how it all builds up – will Wolves sign him, or will Ramos still be an Eagle by the end of this transfer season?
