WARRIORS vice-captain Marshall Munetsi could make his English Premier League (EPL) debut at Anfield Stadium when his new club Wolverhampton Wanderers visit the runaway log leaders Liverpool this weekend.
The 28-year-old made a US$20 million deadline day move to England from French side Reims last week.
His English football audition arrived on Sunday when he came on as a second half substitute in Wolves' 2-0 win over Blackburn Rovers in an FA Cup fourth round tie.
Munetsi played 24 minutes after replacing Portuguese star Gonçalo Guedes in the 66th minute, making a decent impact when he came on.
The Warriors star had three good chances to score his first goal for the club, but could not make full use of the opportunities.
His good performance at the weekend could earn him a place in the Wolves team when they travel to Liverpool on Sunday for what promises to be a tough afternoon for the visitors against the log leaders.
All indications are pointing to Munetsi making his EPL debut at Anfield.
Besides his positive debut against Blackburn, Wolves coach Vitor Pereira praised for Munetsi for the tireless shift he has been putting in at training.
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Pereira revealed that his new man is running the most at Wolves training sessions since joining the club.
Munetsi also did enough to impress his boss during his brief cameo against Blackburn as he provided lots of energy and was cropping up in some very advanced positions.
He looks like he could be a genuine source of goals from midfield, which will come in really handy for Wolves, who have relied heavily on the likes of Matheus Cunha, Jorgen Strand Larsen and Guedes this term.
“He’s a strong player. The three players that we brought in this window, they are strong – physically strong and they can add a lot. They can help us a lot in this long season that we have to face,” Pereira said.
After the match, Munetsi was asked about how it felt to make his first appearance in England.
It was a dream come true, he responded.
“I’m so delighted, you know, because it has been a dream come true for me, representing a big club like Wolves,” the midfielder said.
“What a way to start; I think the guys had already done the most difficult job, to take the lead, and I was just there to do my small part.”
Munetsi also discussed how he had settled at the English side since joining them less than a week ago.
“I think it has been very easy because everybody is very kind. Everybody is willing to help, you know, to assist me in getting comfortable. So, I think it hasn’t been that difficult from the coaching staff to the players; they’re so kind. It has been just to get to know the system and to get to know how we play. Everything else has been very good.”
Reflecting on the goal-scoring chances he got against Blackburn Rovers, Munetsi said: “I think it would have been a dream come true [to score], but you know we save the more goals to come in the upcoming games.
“But I was just happy to do a small part in the win and hopefully, we can continue from here. I think you know, I’m 28 now and there’s a lot that I’ve learnt from football. So, I think it’s the right time for me to showcase it. And I was just delighted that they [Wolves fans] were cheering me on even though I didn’t score. You know they gave me that energy to try and keep on going. We have some quality players, they were able to put in some good balls.
“And obviously we just have to keep on working and looking forward to the next coming games.”
