Wolverhampton Wanderers are targeting Portuguese winger Carlos Forbes from Ajax as a replacement for Pedro Neto.
The fan-favourite is making the move to Stamford Bridge for a club record sale of £54m; the previous record was held by Matheus Nunes to Manchester City for £53m.
Although Neto brought so much quality to the team, consistent injuries prevented him from becoming a star player, and this left Wolves fans extremely frustrated. The Molineux side will be hoping to bring in a new starting right-winger who will be able to play regularly, and Forbs could be the answer to this.
Who is Carlos Forbs?
The player was born in Portugal, and began his career at Sporting CP, before making the move to Manchester City's Academy. He would win the Premier League 2 in consecutive seasons between 2020 and 2022, being named under-18s player of the season at Manchester City in May 2021.
In the 2022-2023 season, Forbs had a real breakout season for the youth side, as he scored 25 goals and delivered 13 assists in all competitions for Manchester City under-21s. This included a hat-trick in their opening UEFA Youth League game in a 5-1 victory over Spanish side Sevilla.
On 3rd August 2023, Ajax sealed a €14 million deal for the Portuguese forward. He made 21 appearances for the Eredivise side, scoring twice and making his senior debut in the Europa League.
Forbs also has great experience in the National team youth sides, being selected for the under-16s in 2020 and then developing into the under-18s, under-19s and most recently, the under-21s Portugal squad alongside new summer signing Rodrigo Gomes.
How would he fit into the team?
The left-footed trickster can operate on both wings and with Gomes playing on the left-wing for Wolves in preseason, it is most likely that Forbs would play on the right - just as Neto did.
With Nelson Semedo driving down the flank as a wing-back, the former Manchester City man will look to cut inside from the right, and overload the midfield. This overload will bring a defender out of position for Forbs to dribble past the defender or lay a through ball in the space for an oncoming attacker.
His blistering pace allows him to quickly press the opposition to win the ball back, which will complement Gary O'Neil's new high-pressing and high-tempo football.
The winger also holds great technical ability and sparks of creativity, which earned him five assists last season. Neto was that creative talent in the squad, but with his lengthy injuries, this is the type of player is what Wolves have been needing for a while, so it comes to no surprise that the club are looking at him.
Settling with the squad
As a fellow Portuguese, it would be no question that Forbs would settle into the squad well surrounded by his comrades.
Wolves have been known for signing many Portuguese players and have many on their books currently, including Jose Sa, Semedo, Toti Gomes, Rodrigo Gomes, Goncalo Guedes, Daniel Podence and Fabio Silva. The Ajax winger will be surrounded with people from the same country as him helping him to communicate with his teammates and increase the chemistry around the squad.
Playing for Manchester City's academy at youth level will have already given Forbs the experience of living and playing football in England. He will not have to adapt his game as much as other players do coming from abroad, since he already has that experience.
Gary O'Neil has already proved his excellence in man management with the squad, after taking over from an unhappy squad last summer and bringing out the best of them to create a great atmosphere within the club. There is no doubt that the former Bournemouth coach will keep this up and unleash the potential ability that Forbs has to offer to this already talented squad.
