Wolves in Marbella: Liam Keen and Nathan Judah's early training thoughts
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00:00Hello I'm Nathan Judah, that is Wolverhampton Wonders reporter Mr. Liam Keen and we are
00:15back baby. Another season and we've left Wolverhampton, we've come to slightly sunnier parts and we
00:23are in beautiful Marbella, Spain. We have just watched our first session, Mr. Gary O'Neill
00:28putting the squad through their paces and I thought it all looked pretty good actually
00:33on the pitch. Yeah I mean Gary came over and said hello to us and our bosses will be delighted
00:37to hear that he said. He's already said more to us than Lopetegui said last year, let's
00:42be honest, he didn't get hello. He said that our bosses are very good to us for paying
00:46to take us out here. Of course our sponsors Ronin are helping with that. Thank you very
00:50much Ronin absolutely. But yeah great to have a very brief chat with Gary, a couple of the
00:54backroom staff and then watch the training session. Yeah it was really good, considering
00:59the weather, I mean it is, you can tell from the video I'm sure, without feeling it. They
01:03can't because you're still white, you're like Casper. Yeah that's not going to change. It
01:07is roasting, it is hot. It is Diogo. It is, it is Jota. As they normally do with pre-season
01:17trips, they'll do double sessions during the day but avoid the hottest period of the day
01:21which would be midday, 1-2ish in the afternoon. You definitely want to avoid that considering
01:27how hot it is now. I mean they've still trained here in probably 28 degree heat even though
01:30it's the morning session. It might have been more than that to be honest. So yeah, morning
01:34session, they'll have another one later tonight before dinner. And that'll be both days, split
01:3910am, 5pm and normally if they're doing double sessions a day that'll be what it is. Or every
01:43day aside from I'm sure they'll be giving a day off here and there as well. So yeah
01:47a lot of it was, because it was only an hour, an hour and ten roughly, there's only so much
01:51you can get into that. So there's a lot of camaraderie building, bringing the new lads
01:55into the squad, letting everyone fit in. And then it's very much quick, fast paced work.
02:00So a lot of short passing drills to start, then it moved into set piece work on the other
02:06pitch over there, on this pitch here. Doing a lot of full pitch 11, working through the
02:11third. And Gary and his coaches are very very involved on the pitch. If a ball goes
02:17out of play all of a sudden a ball's thrown into play, very much involved, carried the
02:21whistle around with him the whole time. He's very loud and very hands on. So yeah it was
02:26a good session, we saw all the new lads and the vast majority of the squad apart from
02:31a couple of omissions. Yeah I mean look, they've only just returned to pre-season so I was
02:34actually quite pleasantly surprised that it was very much part of a game tactics here.
02:39We got to see formations, we got to see how Gary O'Neill wants to operate, we got to see
02:43the three new signings, well four if you include Tommy Doyle, but the three new signings. What
02:48did you make of them and where were they playing? Because obviously a lot of fans want to know
02:52what you've seen, how did they look, what side were they playing, what position are
02:55they in? I mean look it's very early days of course and there's certain players who
02:58aren't here yet who are going to be joining up with the team in the United States, a lot
03:01of Portuguese guys. But at this moment in time, what did you make of let's say the three
03:05new players to start with?
03:07Pedro Lima, as expected, out on the right-hand side, wing-back, right-back positions. I think
03:12he's going to need a little bit of work in terms of filling out but he has only just
03:15turned 18, not particularly massive physically but he is quick, good on the ball, really
03:23really forward thinking as well. So yeah I think he looks quite an exciting prospect
03:27once he gets the opportunity to get used to Premier League football. So I think he needs
03:30a little bit of patience but definitely looks like a good player. I'll come back to Rodrigo
03:34at the end, slightly more interest like that. But we had Jorgen Straten Larsson, obviously
03:39playing as number 9, he is the number 9. Big boy. Big lad, 6 foot 4, huge. But really good
03:45with his feet, technical, running in behind, didn't look slow. Sometimes you see big strikers
03:50and they almost go through the motions a little bit and he didn't look like that, someone
03:54who was getting in behind, someone who was a willing runner as well as someone to hold
03:57the ball up. But a lot of the drills they were doing were very much running in behind,
04:01in between the thirds, triangles out wide, trying to get crosses in. So it was some really
04:07good finishes, I think he looks like a really handy player. And Rodrigo Gomez, he can play
04:11either wing, he can play either flank. He did play a lot last season on the right and
04:15he was actually lining up on the left here with Bellegarde on the right. Sometimes wing
04:20back, sometimes forward, they were sort of testing different formations out, 4s and 5s.
04:25Very similar to last season really where Wolves play very much a hybrid system depending on
04:29whether they're in possession or out of possession. So maybe a small surprise to see him out on
04:34the left, not the right, but he is versatile, he can play on either side. And I think clearly
04:38they see Bellegarde as maybe out on his right side for the time being. So yeah, definitely
04:43plenty to see in just a first hour session.
04:46And this is the perfect time to test these things out, test these theories out, can he
04:52make it in from the left, is he going to be a right-handed player, is he going to be a
04:55right-midfielder, right-forward, is he going to be a bit more defensively because he's
04:58played right wing back at times. So this is the time to try it out and I actually thought
05:02that everyone looked pretty strong.
05:04And Gary said this himself publicly last season that he likes sort of inverted wide players.
05:10So having Gomez out on the left as a right footer is potentially where he sees him moving
05:17forward because he's spoken about having Dock out on the wrong side a couple of times previously
05:23last season when they had injuries. So yeah, it was a worthwhile session for us to come
05:28down and watch, especially on the first full day in Marbella. It's good to see the team
05:32back in action.
05:33Yeah, just a word on maybe a surprise potentially to some who was here and plays that aren't.
05:38So Daniel Pudente is here, Gonzalo Guedes and Fabio Silva are not.
05:43Correct. Fabio Silva and Guedes, it won't come as a surprise that the chances are, provided
05:50their move can be found, that they will leave the club. I think permanent deals would be
05:54something of a preference for all parties, but whether that is reality or not, with the
05:58money the Wolves will want to recoup, considering they spent 62 and a half million combined
06:02on these two players, it will be one to certainly watch.
06:05But yeah, as it stands, certainly not part of the plans here. Strange things have happened.
06:11We'll see how the next rest of preseason goes, but that is state of play. At the moment,
06:16we've got Pudente mentioned who is here. A little bit of a surprise to see him here,
06:19I think, to be honest, considering that it's been pretty clear his future lies away from
06:24Wolves. It's a never-say-never scenario, probably, with him, but his long-term future
06:28is very likely still not going to be at Wolves. He's made it pretty clear that he wants to
06:33stay in Greece or at least make a different move elsewhere. I think it's likely he doesn't
06:37stay, but we were talking about it here. If the player goes in, has a word with Gary,
06:41says he wants to be here, you never know. So I think it's one to keep an eye on again.
06:44I mean, fans and journalists as well will look at last season and say, if Daniel Pudente
06:50was here, he would have played a lot of games, a lot of forward positions, a lot of injuries.
06:55If he was fully fit, then he would have probably potentially made the difference in a couple
06:58of big games. However, you've got to read what Gary O'Neill says, and he's spoken about
07:04it last season, saying he's only going to have players who want to be here. I guess
07:08we'll work that out, and he'll work that out sooner rather than later, especially on this
07:11camp.
07:12Well, and the perfect example of that is Fabio Silva, just as the season was ending, coming
07:17out in an interview publicly and saying, I don't want to be at Wolves, making it very,
07:20very clear. And that's his prerogative, and that's fine, and that's the same with any
07:24other player that makes a decision about their future. And it's Gary's prerogative to not
07:28have that player on the squad. So that's the reason why those two aren't here.
07:31It's all about the group. That's the most important thing for Gary.
07:33Exactly. It's all about the culture. It's the phrase that he uses consistently. So that's
07:36going to be an interesting one with Pudente, because, I mean, we've said it publicly, it's
07:40been pretty public knowledge that he's not always the easiest person to work with. I
07:43think he can be a little bit spiky at times. So I think it depends really, in many ways,
07:49what the player wants. If he wants to stay, I think Gary may be able to find a place for
07:53him. Again, there'll be tactical reasons why Gary may or may not want him as well. But
07:57certainly given, at the very least, an opportunity because he's here, despite the fact it's still
08:01unlikely that he probably moves on.
08:03I'm a little bit worried that Daniel Pudente's here.
08:04You don't like him that he moves on. Carry on.
08:05I'm a little bit worried that he's here.
08:06Why's that?
08:07Because there's a pre-season game behind closed doors against Como on Monday, and we all remember
08:11what the Battle of Benidorm was. We don't want any scraps.
08:13Battle of Benidorm.
08:14We don't want any more scraps.
08:15And Mosquera's here as well.
08:16I know, of course. It's all going to kick off.
08:17What was it down to nine already?
08:18Exactly. I mean, that was an unbelievable game to watch. Actually, just very quickly.
08:22You mentioned Mosquera there. Maybe just a little bit on him as well.
08:24Well, just before that, I just want to explain a couple of the other players that aren't
08:27around here, just because I know we've had a lot of questions about this. Sar, Samedo
08:30Neto, João Gomes and Lembekisa, all because of international reasons, played for their
08:35countries recently, won't be here until a little bit later. Joe Hodge, not here.
08:39When you say later, we're expecting USA.
08:41We're expecting USA, partway through USA as well, actually, for all of them. We've then
08:46got Joe Hodge, who is back at Compton. They're hoping to get him a loan move fairly quickly.
08:53And then we've got the final two, Enzo Gonzalez, Bubacar Traore, are both with Paraguay and
08:57Mali respectively at the Olympics. So that's why they're not here at the moment. And then
09:01you mentioned Mosquera. Yeah, we talk about players not wanting to be here. I don't for
09:05a second believe that he doesn't want to be here, but he did publicly say in interviews
09:08last season that he would like to stay in Spain. I think, and I said this at the time,
09:13I always felt it was a player, a young player, in an interview saying what he thought was
09:17the right thing to say for the people he was in front of in the interview.
09:20What people wanted to hear. Exactly, what people wanted to hear. If he has an opportunity
09:24to play for Wolves in the Premier League and be part of a great club in the best league
09:28in the world, he's not setting that down. So unless Wolves find a deal that they think
09:33is financially suitable to them, he won't be going anywhere. And Wolves are very clear
09:37that they want to keep him. Gary O'Neill wants to keep him, and he was a big part of
09:40the training session. So unless anything drastically changes, Mosquera will be part
09:44of the squad next season. A few eagle-eyed cherries asking about Hwang Hee-chan. It wasn't
09:47pictured he was doing individual work, but he has travelled, he is in Marbella. Great
09:51reference there by the way, eagle-eyed cherry, lovely.
09:53Look, we're going to be here all week. We've got so much coverage, we're going to be doing
09:58the podcast this afternoon, our first podcast. We're going to be doing four or five over
10:01the next few weeks, so we can't wait. It's great to be back. I know we've said it, I
10:05know we've plugged it, but if you haven't already, £2 to watch, to read, to listen
10:11to absolutely everything, all of our content. Look, it's not going to make us rich overnight,
10:16we're not seeing any of it, but we want you to be able to have all the content there at
10:20your fingertips. And look, it's ad-free, it's two quid, it's for this tour, it's for the
10:25USA tour, it's for the Diaries, for everything. It's a no-brainer right? Absolutely, and the
10:29ad-free thing is really important. I think we need to keep making people aware of that.
10:32No pop-ups, no ads, no nothing. You click onto the Switch to Plus on the website, it
10:37takes you to the completely ad-free website, which is very nice. It's 9p a day. Very nice
10:44to read. 6p a day. So yeah, definitely worth it, and we'll hopefully have you all along
10:47for the ride. Great stuff, we'll be back at training this evening and then we might, there's
10:51some sort of game tonight? Oh yeah, is it? Who's playing? Slovakia and Georgia. That'd
10:59be a good game actually, a decent game, a tacky game. At least see some goals. Come
11:03on England. Fingers crossed, let's see you there.