Express & Star

Joao Moutinho aims to repeat success with Wolves

An experienced Portuguese international midfielder joins an ambitious newly-promoted club and helps them reach lofty heights in the top flight.

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Joao Moutinho (© AMA / Sam Bagnall)

Sound familiar? Joao Moutinho has been here before.

The canny 32-year-old joined French side Monaco in 2013, then a new Ligue 1 club following a shock drop into Ligue 2 two years earlier.

With key signing Moutinho in the heart of midfield, Claudio Ranieri's team enjoyed a fabulous campaign, finishing second behind PSG. After successive third-placed finishes, they won the title in 2017, again with Moutinho pulling the strings.

While no one is expecting a repeat at Molineux this season, there are parallels between the two, as Moutinho himself says.

"In Monaco it was the same," Moutinho said.

"I go to Monaco when they do the promotion to Ligue 1 and we start off building something good and after four years we won the championship.

"We have all the things to build something good in this club. And I think other seasons we will be better and better.

"For me the Premier League is the best league in the world and it is very difficult to stay in it.

"Of course, if we can, all the players (want to) win the Premier League but it is very difficult. Achieve the principal to stay and after game by game we will do our best to achieve better goals."

"Nothing is impossible. Like Adidas our club has the slogan 'nothing is impossible' and but we know it is very difficult. We need to be realistic."

It's been a hugely impressive start from Wolves who are six games unbeaten.

Moutinho says it continues the excellent work done before he arrived at the club.

"It is unbelievable how good they play last year," he added. "I think with three, four, five, six new players coming for the team help the team to achieve more things.

"We are seventh, but we know the other teams can catch us. We need to work more and more and more and improve more because we know the next game is very difficult.

Talking of which, the next game in Watford at home. After four consecutive wins to start the season the Hornets have slipped below Wolves in the table, but Moutinho knows not to underestimate them.

"We know this kind of thing happens (Watford's poor run). All the teams want to stay all the time in the higher level but it is difficult because you have a lot of teams with very good players and very good quality, a lot of quality,

"Watford is a very good team, they began the Premier League very well. Now they've draw and lost one or two matches, but I think it is normal here in England.

"Sometimes the top team loses against the bottom team. That is the magic of the football and that is why I think too the Premier League is the best league in the world."

Wolves will be backed by another capacity Molineux crowd tomorrow and Moutinho, while not necessarily surprised by what he's found on the pitch in the Premier League, seems to have been taken aback by the passion of the Wolves supporters.

"What I see now with the love for the football, our supporters, they are amazing," he said.

"The atmosphere, it is very, very good and they bring something else for our game. When we play at home it is amazing, but when we go away our space is full with our supporters and it is very good for us to feel that support."