Forget Neto: Lage must unleash “important” £27m-rated Wolves gem, “nothing phases him” - opinion

Following on from their crushing 2-1 defeat against Arsenal in midweek, Wolves have another tough test ahead of them this afternoon with a Premier League clash against West Ham United at the London Stadium, who also have aspirations of securing European football this season.

In terms of which players Bruno Lage could pick to be in his starting XI to take on the Hammers, one figure that didn’t start in midweek that we feel should be in from the beginning on this occasion is midfielder Leander Dendoncker.

The Belgian was taken out of the team against Arsenal so the Wolves boss could go with a midfield duo of Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho whilst having three attackers of Daniel Podence, Raul Jimenez and Hwang Hee-chan in from the beginning.

Taking into account how the Midlands club ended up losing the match against Mikel Arteta’s side and conceding a total of 26 shots at goal, it could be worth putting Dendoncker back in the team alongside Neves and Moutinho to make the side a bit more defensively solid.

Despite only being on the pitch for eight minutes in total and having five touches of the ball, the 26-year-old still managed to win one duel, block one shot and complete one tackle, showing the defensive capabilities he has.

With David Moyes’ side having scored 21 more league goals than the Old Gold this season, adding a bit more defensive strength to the team could be the way for the away team to secure a positive result on this occasion, which could work out for the Belgian to make a return to the starting XI but maybe not for winger Pedro Neto who may be hoping to get his first league start of the season.

Labelled as an “important” player for his side by Lage, the £27m-rated midfielder could have the chance to show his