Wolves centre-back Toti Gomes places above every single defender in the Premier League for one incredible statistic.
The 2023/24 Premier League campaign drew to a close with Wolves in 14th position.
For the injury troubles he encountered and a depleted squad to select from, this was regarded as a good first season for Gary O’Neil, who will be looking to bolster his side with quality this summer.
O’Neil inherited a squad from Julen Lopetegui that lacked confidence but the 41-year-old transformed the fortunes of several first-team stars, including Matheus Cunha, Hwang Hee-Chan, Joao Gomes and Toti Gomes.
While Cunha and Hwang blossomed in an attacking sense, reaching double figures for goals in the top flight, Toti held his own defensively and proved to be an immovable object on the left side of O’Neil’s back three.
The Portuguese international was rarely used under previous managers, making 26 senior appearances, but the 25-year-old made 42 in all competitions in 2023/24, recording one goal and three assists.
Now, it has emerged that he tops the Premier League charts for one impressive statistic.
Toti Gomes has most completed dribbles of any defender in the Premier League
Toti’s main strength is driving out from defence with the ball and being tidy in possession.
As highlighted by FBref, the towering centre-back has recorded a respectable 82% pass completion while ranking in the top 2% of Premier League defenders for successful take-ons.
It’s such statistics that enable O’Neil’s side to play out from the back with Max Kilman equally efficient at distributing the ball out from defence.
According to WhoScored, no other defender in England’s top flight has completed more dribbles than the Portuguese powerhouse (23), placing him above Nottingham Forest’s Murillo (20) and Aston Villa’s Ezri Konsa (19).
Remarkably, Arsenal’s William Saliba, arguably one of the best ball-playing defenders in the division, is nowhere to be seen on this list, therefore, emphasising what a season the Wolves man has had.
Gary O’Neil deserves huge credit for unlocking Toti Gomes
O’Neil’s man-management skills have been impeccable since arriving at Molineux.
His decision to start Toti for the first time in September’s 2-1 win over Manchester City was a masterstroke and the Wolves defender has never looked back.
Toti has been consistently brilliant alongside Kilman and Craig Dawson, with the latter lauding him as “magnificent” for his performance in the famous win over Tottenham.
It just goes to show that when a manager believes in a player, he can get the very best out of them, and that is exactly what O’Neil has done with the former Estoril man.
A moment of inspiration to start him against Man City has turned out to be a pivotal decision which truly kickstarted Toti’s career at Molineux.