Could Semedo form one of the Premier League’s most dynamic partnerships at Wolves with Adama Traore?

‘Nelson Semedo starts the expected revolution at Barcelona,’ Marca’s headline read on Tuesday ahead of the Barcelona right-back’s move to Wolves. 

That no longer rings true after Wolves completed the a sensational club-record £37million move for the Portugal international on Wednesday, with Semedo becoming Jorge Mendes’ eighth client to join the Molineux outfit.

Semedo will now step in for Matt Doherty following the Republic of Ireland international move to Tottenham last month. 

Wolves have completed the signing of Nelson Semedo from Barcelona for a fee up to £37m 

The 26-year-old Portuguese will replace Matt Doherty who signed for Tottenham this summer

Semedo had been linked with Manchester City and Juventus earlier in the transfer window

But it is the impact of his arrival that he could have at Wolves that is equally as tantilising as the effect of his departure on Barcelona.

However, to first summarise the Portugal defender’s summer by just mentioning the agreement between Barcelona and Wolves fails to capture the uncertainty that has all too often shrouded the Catalan giants’ transfer window.

The Lionel Messi saga saw extremely public twists and turns of a detailed financial nature which the club have managed to resolve, but Semedo’s future seems to have been kept well under wraps for much of the calendar year.

There was hope that Semedo would sign a new three-year contract at the Nou Camp club which was reportedly put on the table at the beginning of the year, particularly after enjoying a rejuventation under former boss Quique Setien.

The right-back appeared to make the position his own ahead of the versatile Sergi Roberto after strong performances during Setien’s first few weeks in the job, putting in strong performances against Espanyol, Levante and Leganes.

Unlike Lionel Messi’s public transfer saga, Semedo’s own indifferences were kept under wraps

Semedo has been at the club since 2017 and was deemed the replacement for Dani Alves

A strong, quick and tenacious full-back who can play on either side, he took to Barcelona’s 4-3-3 formation and managed to provide some much-needed width for a side without Ousmane Dembele and that was wrestling with Real Madrid for the title.

Yet throughout his Barcelona career, even with the departures of the likes of Aleix Vidal, Semedo has never appeared to fully convince supporters or coaches, despite appearing to possess all the attributes of a modern full-back and making some 42 appearances last season.

Fast forward to May and his situation dramatically became unstable when Barcelona suddenly broke off negotiations with his representatives, with the Catalan side not able to satisfy his financial demands and Semedo’s camp not willing to accept the aforementioned three-year deal.

After signalling his desire to return to Benfica – the club he signed from in 2017 – earlier this summer he was offered around and had reportedly been discussed in vain in potential swap deals with Juventus’ Miralem Pjanic and Manchester City’s Joao Cancelo, while Inter Milan had also registered an interest in his services.

Semedo appeared to enjoy a rejuvenation following Quique Setien’s appointment this year

The man once destined to be the long-term replacement for Dani Alves however was still looking increasingly likely to be one of the first out of the Nou Camp exit door even before Ronald Koeman’s appointment as the new boss.  

So with the Dutchman now keen to move Semedo out to re-build his side, how could he fit in at Molineux? 

Much like Doherty, Semedo appears to prefer prioritising work in advanced areas for his club. He has always looked to get forward and provide the width in Barcelona’s typical 4-3-3 system.

Nuno preferred a system of either three at the back or five at the back last season and deployed the explosive Adama Traore in the wing-back role against Pep Guardiola’s side on Monday. 

But while the formation may take some getting used, Semedo’s powerful and aggressive running style makes it hard to knock him off the ball.

But Setien has been sacked and replaced by Ronald Koeman who wants to move him on

Semedo’s signing could see him form a dynamic partnership with winger Adama Traore

As such, not only could he regularly get into advanced areas to provide crosses for the likes of Raul Jimenez, but he could form one of the Premier League’s most dynamic right-hand side partnership with Traore, who would be able to return to the role that saw him create havoc for opposition defences last season.

There have however been some doubts about Semedo’s end product though, managing just four LaLiga assists to go with a solitary goal from 32 matches in 2019-20, albeit in a side that by their very high standards struggled for regular goalscorers aside from Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.

But despite his ability to go on marauding runs forward, he tends to play a lot of short passes inside and shows a tendency to link-up play well as opposed to whipping crosses into the box.

That could spell further good news for Semedo’s compatriots Joao Moutinho and Ruben Neves as well as Traore, who would thrive off constantly receiving the ball in attacking areas, and also helps to explain his rather modest assists return last season.

He is strong, quick and tenacious full-back but largely played in a back four at Barcelona

Statistics from Football Whispers showed that Semedo ranked third for passes completed per 90 minutes a few months ago with 52.35, but ranked only 14th among right-backs in LaLiga for forward passes.

Combine that with the attacking prowess that Traore and Semedo possess and the Portuguese’s lack of positional awareness at times, Nuno will be well aware of the danger of the space that the duo could leave behind them and leave centre-backs Conor Coady, Willy Boly and Romain Saiss exploited.

However, if Nuno’s main objective was to find someone who has the potential of replacing Doherty’s seven goals and five assists from the previous campaign in the current set-up, he may well have recruited the perfect fit. 

Semedo may have failed to convince at Barcelona, but should he combine well with the La Masia academy product ahead of him he could be in for the most fruitful spell of his career so far. 

He scored once last season but his return of four assists is more of a cause for concern

But if Nuno wants the qualities in attacking areas of Doherty, he may well have struck gold