Rob Edwards insists he always promised Angel Gomes that he’d sign him as a manager one day and is delighted to have made that a reality at Molineux.
The midfielder became the club’s second deadline day signing on Monday, joining on loan from Marseille until the end of the season, and sparking a reunion with Edwards, who he worked closely with at the FA.
Edwards has been aware of the midfielder for many years now, and having followed that journey and built a connection at St George’s Park, he was keen to bring Gomes’ personality and midfield versatility into his group at Compton Park.
On reuniting with Gomes
“The first time I came across him I was first-team coach here [at Wolves] on pitch one, and the under-18s were playing a game on pitch two. I remember floating across after our training session to watch some of their game, and he was an under-16 playing in the under-18, and I was hearing people saying about ‘Angel’. I thought he was outstanding in the game.
“Then we came across him when I was doing the 23s a few years later, and he had a really good team [at Man United] with Jimmy Garner and some outstanding players in that group. Then I was lucky enough to work with him at the FA and we got on really, really well. He was a really good player and was obviously part of Steve Cooper’s World Cup winning group with the under-17s.
“Then a few years later he was with the under-20s. I was working with Keith Downing and did a good few camps with him. At that time, he had some decisions to make, United wanted to keep him, but he wanted to progress his career as well. I just listened, I wouldn't try and advise in any way, that wasn’t my job, especially with the FA, but I tried to listen and talk things through.”
On following his journey
“I just thought he was a brilliant, technical player. He's got a great brain, and we've always kept in touch. It's brilliant to see how well he's done, I'd always say, ‘I'll sign you one day’ and it's really exciting now that we've been able to do that. I’m delighted, really excited. I’ve got a really good relationship with Angel because we go back quite a long way now.”
"On a human level he's a really great guy. I'm happy to be here and happy to be working under him."
— Wolves (@Wolves) February 3, 2026
Angel Gomes is excited to work with Rob Edwards again 💬 pic.twitter.com/iVRXx6884W
On what Gomes will bring
“He gives us real quality in that midfield area and versatility because he can play as a deeper midfield player, he can go up and down, or he can be a creative one. He has lots of good qualities and a lot of people would have seen that when he was playing for England.
“It's a real opportunity for him now, it gives him a platform in the Premier League to show everybody what he's about, to help us, and obviously, in turn, hopefully we can help him as well, because there's always areas of people's game that they want to improve, but it's a really exciting signing for the football club.”
On his conversations with Angel
“His situation at Marseille may have changed over the last few weeks. We became an option, even though he would always have been an option for me. It’s something that we've been speaking about over the last few weeks, and he and I spoke a few times. I explained what we wanted to do and that we would love to have him here, and how he can help us.
“As I've been saying in the press, these things never happen that quickly, there's always a lot of moving parts to these deals, whether that be a loan or a permanent deal. Thankfully, we're here and I think it's a real positive thing for everybody. He's really excited to get playing and play in England, and it's really exciting for us to have someone who's hungry to be here, wants to be in and wants to show everyone how good is.”
On bringing top level experience
“He's young, but he's experienced now, he's got a lot of games behind him, great experiences behind him, and we want him to bring all that. His intensity, his energy, his enthusiasm for football. He's got bags and bags of quality. We've got to make sure we use him in the right way now and get him the ball. International experience, Champions League experience, playing at a really high level abroad, he'll have learned a lot over these last few years. So, I’m looking forward to seeing him integrate into the group.”
