Wolves midfielder Joao Moutinho excels next to Romain Saiss

By Dom Toner

Wolverhampton Wanderers earned a 1-1 draw away to Fulham on Boxing Day in the Premier League and midfielder Joao Moutinho demonstrated his qualities at Craven Cottage.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side picked up a league point thanks to a late equaliser from Romain Saiss and they now turn their attention to a trip to in-form Tottenham at the weekend.

The West Midlands club will be content with a point on the road after not reaching their best, but there were real positives to take from the midfield area.

Moutinho dazzled in the centre of the park with his display and has turned out to be an excellent £5million (BBC) summer signing.

The 32-year-old Portuguese veteran is an experienced central midfielder that is technically gifted and takes good care in possession.

He showed off his range of passing away to Fulham and helped unlock the defence in the build up to the equaliser.

(Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

Moutinho’s form was at an all-time high in a Wolves shirt against Fulham and that was similarly the case earlier in the win over Chelsea earlier in December.

The reoccurring theme from those two games was that he had all-action teammate Saiss featuring alongside him in the centre of the park, which has helped him look a different animal.

Both compliment each other well with their no-nonsense tackling and creativity, something which provides a nice balance and perhaps takes the shackles off Moutinho more.

Manager Nuno also has wonderkid Ruben Neves he needs to try fit into the equation and a midfield trio may be the best solution moving forward.