Adapting to English football can be tough for a young player, and Rodrigo Gomes admits he might not have been as ready for his first taste of the Premier League as he initially thought having moved to Wolves last summer.
The exciting Portuguese talent shone during the Old Gold’s pre-season tour of the United States, but he was unable to transfer his sparkling form straight into his debut Premier League campaign.
However, after fully settling in the squad throughout the last 12 months, with two goals under his belt – coincidentally both in 3-0 wins against Leicester City – and a summer which saw him thrive with Portugal under-21s, Gomes believes the new season in gold and black will be much better than the last, for both him and the team.
On his debut Premier League campaign
“It was good to move here. I like to change and it was very good for me to come to a new country, to meet new people and new cultures. It was very nice for me to grow up, because it was my first time alone living in another country, so it was very good for me and now I feel more of a man.
“But it was a tough season, a difficult season, but I think it was very good for me to improve myself. It was my first season away from Portugal and it was very nice. I did a very good pre-season, and although the team in the first games was not that good, from the middle of the season until the end, we improved a lot.
“We improved individually and as a team and I think that helped me to get better and improve myself and my game. In the end, I think it was a very good season for me and for the club too.”
On adapting to English football
“I was thinking I was ready, but the Premier League was different than the pre-season. I knew it would be, but the Premier League was very intense, very physical, very fast, and although the pre-season was like that too, it was not as much as the Premier League was.
“It was different, it was tough, it was more difficult, and in the first games, I was not that ready. But I think it’s normal when you come to the Premier League, especially as a young player and you are not a regular in the first games.
“You need to time to settle and you need time to know how to play in the team. I’ve said many times before, the Premier League is the best league in the world and it’s the most difficult league in the world to play in, so I think now I’m better, but I still need to improve more and more.”
On scoring his first goals for Wolves
“It was good. Two goals against Leicester in two 3-0 wins – it’s funny how that happened – and it was very good to score my first goals for Wolves. The first goal was away and I will always remember that because it was my first Premier League goal.
“But the second one is more special for me because of the environment and because I scored in front of the fans at the Molineux. It’s amazing, and I want to score more and more.”
On dealing with not playing regularly
“I always stayed motivated because this is my dream. Being here at Wolves is my dream. I didn’t play that much, and I wanted to play more – of course, I want to play every game, all the players want to play every game for 90 minutes, but that’s not possible.
“However, I always try to do my best every day and keep working hard. If the things are going well, I keep working, if the things are going not that well, I keep working. Always giving everything, every day, and when I come into the games, I give everything.
“That’s my mindset – give everything and work hard to improve myself and to try to get better and better and improve my game. That’s my thing. I’m like this. I’m always smiling because I’m very happy to be here, so I have to be happy and work hard to improve and to get better.”
R ⚽️ D R I G ⚽️
— Wolves (@Wolves) June 18, 2025
Two goals in 83 minutes of action at the U21 Euros 🇵🇹👏 https://t.co/rPaik9waPH pic.twitter.com/oLxKegbqMD
On being a wing-back compared to a winger
“I played most of the season in that position and I feel very comfortable in that position. I like it a lot. I also like a to play in the front too, but I like a lot to play in that position because I feel comfortable.
“It’s a different position because you have to defend more and run more, but I think I have the capacity to do that, and I feel good when in that position. It’s a position that gives me something different than when I play more in the front of the pitch, because you have to concentrate more on defending.
“In the Premier League, we have so many talented players on the wings and they are usually the best players of their teams – very fast and full of skills – and I know have to improve my defensive skills, and I want to improve that, because if I want to play in the Premier League, I have to know to defend and how to attack. It’s good for me to learn and be comfortable to play in more positions, not just in one position.”
On aims for the 2025/26 season
“My goals are to do better that I did last season. Try to play more, try to score more goals and get more assists and help the team. That’s what I want to do.
“My goal is to do better and to improve myself every year. Just get better and better and do as much as I can to push on. A good goal for me is to make sure that tomorrow, I am better than yesterday.
“That’s how I look at football as well as life, and that’s what I always try to do.”
