Wolves have reportedly agreed a fee of around £18.5 million + £2.5 million add-ons for Fluminense midfielder André after months of negotiations with several other Premier League clubs.
The Brazilian is expected to fly to England tomorrow to undergo medical tests and complete the move.
This comes alongside Sam Johnstone’s reported move to Wolves for an agreed fee of £10 million, the Crystal Palace goalkeeper wanted out and looks to be on his way.
Transfer speculation has been surrounding current midfielder Joao Gomes in this summer transfer window linking him with a move away; André is expected to come in and play an immediate key role in the first-team as well as providing early cover for a Gomes departure.
The transfer does pose more questions than answers with the squad calling out for players in different positions, however with another defensive midfielder it could provide cover for the defensive line.
For the money being spent, Wolves fans will hope to expect a good player and the stats suggest he will be a success in the Premier League, similar to Gomes.
Who is André?
The 23-year-old first started for Fluminense in September 2020 in an away loss to Sport Recife.
André went on to score his first professional goal in July 2021 when he scored a last-minute winner in a 1-0 away win over rivals Flamengo.
He started the Copa Libertadores final against Boca Juniors which ended in a 2-1 victory to make it his first major title and his club’s first title in that competition.
The midfielder won best defensive midfielder in Brazil and featured in the Série A team of the year in 2022, as well as featuring in the Copa Libertadores 2023 team of the year.
A successful defensive midfielder who has proved early on in his career he is a winner and looks suited to play at the top of the game.
André’s passing ability
The 23-year-old has a similar play style to Gomes as a ball-winning midfielder but with better passing ability.
In 2023 and 2024, André boasted a 94% pass completion across 43 Série A games, the highest in the league, whereas Gomes stooped to an average of 80% across the two seasons he has spent at Wolves.
Something the Wolves squad missed last season in the absence of both Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho is an accurate long ball to turn over an opposition defence or shift a defensive block to open up a chance to attack.
Tommy Doyle attempted the most for Wolves with 178 but only completed 59% of them, however André played 207 long balls with an accuracy of 80%, showing the versatility of his passing range.
No Wolves midfielder completed more progressive passes than the Fluminense midfielder last season as he completed 185 but Gomes tallied just 101, showing the forward-thinking mentality he possesses rather than limiting himself to backwards and sidewards passing.
Alongside the progressive passes, André also completed more passes into the final third than any Wolves player with 223 last season, Max Kilman with the most for Wolves, however a defender playing the most passes into the final third shows the lack of creativity and passing quality the Wolves midfield has - something the Brazilian can improve.
How does André fit into the Wolves team?
Something the current Wolves midfield does have is strength in defensive cover, but André can still contribute something.
Mario Lemina and Gomes both stack up impressive defensive numbers as both feature in the top 10 for tackles and tackles won last season, the Brazilian second and third with 128 tackles - 74 won.
André cannot quite reach those numbers but knowing how good his passing ability is, compare the defensive ability to Doyle who is arguably Wolves’ best passer of the ball, it shows the Brazilian can do both.
Doyle averaged less than one tackle won a game last season, whereas André won 1.3 tackles a game as well as the Brazilian making more tackles and interceptions combined per 90 minutes.
A midfield three of André, Gomes and Lemina could work successfully as all three are capable of different aspects of the game.
Lemina chipped in with the most goals and assists from a midfielder last campaign, Gomes finished second in the league in tackles with André topping the Série A in passes completed.
After fans have cried out for another central defender, perhaps the Wolves recruitment team have prioritised defensive cover in front of the back four rather than in it which could work well.
It may take a bit of settling into English football for André to prevail but just like Gomes, it will hopefully turn out to be a success for the midfielder.
