Loan Watch | Gomes enjoying life in Switzerland

Wolves loanee Tote Gomes has his eyes on winning the Swiss Challenge League and securing promotion for his current side Grasshopper Club Zurich.

The 22-year-old defender has scored twice during his side’s promotion charge this season and the Portuguese hopes to be in contention for the Wolves first-team upon returning from his loan spell in the summer.

On his loan spell so far

“It's going very well. I started in September when I signed with Wolves and I think things are going very well. In my personal experience, I like the country and the club.

“I’m improving as a person and a player every day. I'm learning a lot, so there are a lot of positives.”

On having familiar faces at Grasshoppers.

“We have Leo [Bonatini], Connor [Ronan] and Oskar [Buur]. Leo is the oldest of us and he has more experience, but they all have good experiences in other leagues and other competitions – it's good, they know a little more and they have a little bit more experience.

“I always talk to Leo, I knew him before because he played at Estoril as I did, he talks to me and gives me advice, he tells me things about Wolves and how the team works and trains – it's really good to have him around.”

On the competition in the Swiss Challenge League

“It’s a little bit different compared to Portugal. In Portugal it’s more intense. Although here in Switzerland, the competition is getting stronger.

“It's not easy for us but we're in first place. We have a good team with good players and a good coach. It's different but I'm enjoying the experience. I'm learning a lot from this loan and improving my football.”

On his aspirations for the remainder of the season

“Right now, the season is going well, I'm playing regularly. We are focused on the Championship and of course the Swiss Cup.

“We want to win the league – it's one of our goals. We're taking it game by game and I believe that at the end of the season we’ll have won the league and hopefully the cup as well.”

On his goals scored

“Up until now, I have scored twice. As a defender, I don’t score many goals so those two are very special to me. I'm happy I was able to help the team in scoring and defending. When I scored those goals, it was a good feeling, I was happy.”

On the challenges of being a centre-back

“Sometimes it's not easy being a centre-back. We are the last men in the defence besides the goalkeeper and it’s not easy because sometimes I face very good strikers. These players push me to do better. Their speed and agility force me to think quickly.

“This season things have been going well for me. If you compare me to last season when I was playing at my previous club, I've improved a lot. The competition is making me grow and I like this – I like growth. It’s not easy but I don’t want it to be, it pushes me to do better.”

On the competition for places at Grasshoppers

“There’s the captain Aleksandar Cvetkovich and Elias Mesonero here. I know Miguel Norbega because I played against him when he was at Benfica. They’re all good players and are ready for anything.”

On his long-term hopes

“I’m not sure what the future holds, but I’m always ready. I’ll be ready for what’s to come for Wolves. Of course, I want to play with the Wolves' first-team. It's one of my dreams to play in the Premier League. I’m always ready and I will give everything for it. I’ll do anything I can to achieve that goal.”

“For now, I’m focused here at Grasshoppers. I want to play for Wolves in the Premier League. And in terms of long term, my dream has always been to play for Portugal. I played once for the Portugal under-20 team. That was my first international experience but hopefully in the future I can play for the first team too.”

Elsewhere on loan

  • Ruben Vinagre registered an assist for Famalicao to put them 1-0 up against Pacos de Ferreira in Liga Nos. The loanee’s side finished 2-0 winners.
  • Dion Sanderson added another 90-minutes to his tally for Sunderland as they took on Wigan Athletic on Tuesday evening.
  • In La Liga, Rafa Mir scored twice for SD Huesca in their La Liga match against Levante. Mir now has 10 goals in 29 games for Huesca.
  • Christian Herc got on the scoresheet with a goal for MFK Karvina in the Czech First League.

By Nikita Gomes Henschl

#LoanWatch