Bruno Lage insists his new signings need time to adapt to life at Wolverhampton Wanderers following the club’s £100million spending spree.
Bruno lage said: “When I ask for time it’s not about me, it’s about the players coming to work with their teammates to adapt to the club and a different country. If you are buying a player, you cannot make pressure. Sasa came and yesterday he worked with eight players, and today we just recovered so he hasn’t done any practice with the whole team. I cannot put pressure on him and say tomorrow he is going to score three goals. It takes time to adapt to the teammates, to know all the names of the teammates.”
Collins has been the most impressive of Wolves’ summer signings so far, slotting seamlessly into defence alongside the equally imperious Max Kilman. The Irishman already had Premier League experience and spent the majority of pre-season with Wolves, which has allowed him to hit the ground running. Fellow newbies Guedes and Nunes – who joined for a club-record £38m from Sporting – have only shown their talents in flashes thus far. Lage has detailed conversations with his compatriots, who are feeling the effects of the Premier League’s intensity.
Bruno lage added: “We were talking with Matheus in the morning before training. ‘Have you recovered well?’ ‘Yes, I have recovered well but I am running more at high speed than before.’ Of course, it’s a different championship. If he is running at more high speed than before he needs more time to recover than before. The kid said to me, ‘For me it’s a question to adapt.’ To adapt he needs time. When I talk about time I am talking about the players having time to understand the link. Also with Guedes, he came from the Spanish league, he said, ‘Every game we need to be at the limit because every opponent comes with everything.’ I know that the club has that culture to give time to the players. We invested a lot in these players – Guedes, Collins, Sasa, Matheus – so for sure we will protect them and provide them with the best environment to adapt.”
