Emmanuel Agbadou: Wolves’ Ivorian Center Back
If you’re tasked to name the best players from each Premier League club in alphabetical order, the easiest part will be saved for last. Even with consistent disciplinary misconduct and distracting transfer rumors, Matheus Cunha is in a league of his own at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
You could praise the marauding left-back Rayan Aït-Nouri or the stubborn midfield partnership of André and João Gomes, but it’s a different ball game when you talk about the player who just returned to Brazil’s national team setup.
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However, there has been a clear runner-up on their list since the turn of the year. January signing Emmanuel Agbadou won Wolves Player of the Month at the first time of asking. The Ivorian center-back was a key signing in the first window under Vítor Pereira as the club focused on defensive reinforcements.
Agbadou reunited with defensive midfielder Marshall Munetsi, while 22-year-old center-back Nasser Djiga also signed from Red Star with the future in mind. The former Reims duo immediately won their places in Wolves’ XI to great impact.
In particular, the 27-year-old formed a solid back three alongside the fit-again Toti and the vastly experienced Matt Doherty. When Wolves extended their winning run to four matches with a 4-2 success over Tottenham Hotspur, Agbadou fought illness to produce yet another masterclass.
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In what was his 10th Premier League appearance, the combative defender registered six clearances and three tackles. It’s common to see January signings needing more time to cope with the high standard of Premier League football, but that wasn’t an issue for Agbadou from day one.
Wolves lost in four of his first five league games, but their opponents were teams vying for Champions League qualification. However, Agbadou made a great first impression with his timely runs to sniff danger and composure with the ball.
Including their cruel FA Cup exit in Bournemouth, he missed three matches due to muscle fatigue before his return coincided with Wolves’ best spell of the season. Following a 1-1 draw with Everton, the Wanderers won four on the trot to extend the gap with the relegation zone to 14 points with only six games left to play.
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The Ivorian defender is instrumental in Wolves’ improved defensive record under Pereira. The €38.00 million investment to sign him and Munetsi from Reims was a shrewd business by the club in real danger of relegation back in January.
Agbadou’s European career started when he left Tunisian side US Monastir at the age of 23. The Ivorian helped KAS Eupen reach successive cup semi-finals for the first time in the club’s history, but they finished in the lower half of the league standings both times.
In the summer of 2022, the then-25-year-old joined a top-five league for the first time with a move to Reims. Unlike his experience in England, life in Ligue 1 was difficult at the start. Agbadou was sent off in his home debut against Clermont as Reims squandered a two-goal lead to lose 4-2 after they went down to ten men.
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Although he saw another red card in Will Still’s debut as a permanent coach, the managerial change worked wonders for him. Thanks to his fruitful time in Belgian football, the young coach was the perfect man to get the best out of the tough-tackling defender.
In a similar fashion to what Axel Disasi and Wout Faes had done for the club in the past, Agbadou formed a great understanding with the exemplary captain, Yunis Abdelhamid. Despite losing key players every transfer window, the Red and Whites comfortably finished mid-table during his two full seasons at the club.
The veteran Moroccan also left them at the start of this season, which was followed by Luka Elsner selecting Agbadou as club captain. Elsner’s reign started positively with Reims holding a Champions League berth after seven games, but they followed it up with a single win until the end of March.
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Agbadou and the goal-scoring midfielder Munetsi departed Reims during a difficult time for the club, but they have now reached the Coupe de France Final under Samba Diawara, where they will face PSG. Meanwhile, Wolves’ new boys are enjoying life in the West Midlands of England.
That’s not the case for all ex-Reims defenders in the Premier League, however. Faes is facing a second relegation with Leicester City, while Disasi was unable to break into Chelsea’s underwhelming team before a loan move to Aston Villa.
For now, all the signs point to a very successful career in England for Agbadou. Thanks to his first few months at Wolves, Transfermarkt added a whopping €7 million to his market value. Although the fans would like to see him grow into a Molineux legend, Wolves might be tempted to cash in on the no-nonsense defender before he turns 30.
By: Eskender Tamrat /@eskeFussball
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Jack Thomas – WWFC / Wolverhampton Wanderers FC