Famalicão strengthen further with addition of Wolves duo

Newly-promoted Famalicão have impressed this summer with their recruitment so far, and have shown few signs of stopping.

Famalicão are widely seen as Jorge Mendes’ latest project, the Portuguese super agent taking to the Primeira Liga newcomers and has helped oversee some impressive transfers to the 87-year old club.

Their most recent two additions show as much, with Portuguese duo Pedro Goncalves and João Dias joining on a permanent basis from English Premier League outfit Wolverhampton Wanderers - another side that is very much on Jorge Mendes’ agenda.

Goncalves is a particularly exciting addition, the 23-year old midfielder showing a great deal of promise for the Wolves academy team, having arrived in 2017 from Valencia.

In all, he played 19 matches in the Premier League 2, scoring 4 goals and assisting 3, and should prove a very good player for the Primeira Liga newcomers.

But they aren’t the only players to have recently joined Famalicão thanks in part to the contribution of Jorge Mendes.

Indeed, they follow on from a selection of impressive players to have joined the club this summer, most notably Diogo Goncalves, who joined on a season-long loan from Benfica.

The Portuguese winger didn’t have the best of times out on loan at Nottingham Forest last season, but he has previously shown great quality for the Benfica senior team - and even comes with Champions League experience. He should prove a very impressive signing.

He arrives alongside fellow Benfica player Guga, who comes in on a permanent deal. Guga, an attacking midfielder, was out on loan at Greek side Panetolikos for the second half of last season, and is another Jorge Mendes client.

His time in Greece proved productive, where he played in 14 of a possible 16 Super League matches, and is another to keep an eye on.

Fabio Martins is another that arrives at the club - and he is arguably the most impressive of all, offering both experience and quality. Still only 25 years of age, he comes in on a season-long loan from Braga, who he has represented 56 times in the last two seasons alone.

The 2017-18 season was particularly productive for Martins, where he appeared in a staggering 40 matches for Braga - including in 7 of their Europa League outings.

Alex Centelles also arrives from Valencia on a season-long loan, the left back another that has moved with the assistance of Jorge Mendes, while 19-year old Gustavo Assuncao also arrives on a permanent deal from Atletico Madrid, another club that has close ties to Mendes.

Another interesting signing by Famalicao is Ruben Lameiras. The Portuguese attacking midfielder had never previously played in Portugal, and spent the vast majority of his career in England.

And last season, he had an excellent campaign with Plymouth in League One - the third tier of English football - where he played 45 matches across all competitions, scoring 11 goals and assisting 9.

The relationship between Famalicão and Jorge Mendes makes sense; majority owned by Idan Ofer, he is also a shareholder in Atletico Madrid, another club that has very much been central in Mendes’ enterprise and has been involved in many deals involving Portuguese and Gestifute players.

You need to look no further than the fact that Atleti are set to complete the signing of Joao Felix for 120 million euros to see as much, and therefore seeing that Mendes is helping out Famalicão is less than surprising.

They are certainly a team to keep an eye on this season.