With Paul Lambert unconvinced, Wolves’ Ivan Cavaleiro can’t afford another false dawn

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The former Monaco forward is yet to nail down a place in the Wolves starting XI.

The fact that the Portugal Under-21 side’s 2015 European Championship journey ended with a goalless draw and a penalty shootout defeat to Sweden didn’t do them justice. The Iberian youngsters stood out throughout the tournament, their attacking verve and technical ability aligned to smash five past Germany in the semi-finals.

Marshalled by William Carvalho, inspired by Bernardo Silva and Joao Mario, powerhouse forward Ivan Cavaleiro was arguably the pick of the squad, the BBC reported.

However, while Carvalho and Silva have both played Champions League football this season and Mario became the creative force of a resurgent Inter Milan, Cavaleiro has stuttered through a debut season in the lower regions of the English second tier.

Signing from Monaco in the summer in a club record £7 million deal, as reported by the BBC, the 23-year-old’s arrival appeared to herald the start of Wolves’ resurgence under their new Chinese owners Fosun International.

Just for context, their previously record signing was one Kevin Doyle.

However, Cavaleiro has spent the season stuck in the shadow of another exciting Portuguese forward; Helder Costa.

While the former Benfica youngster, who also eclipsed Cavaleiro’s transfer fee to make his loan deal permanent six months later, has scored nine, assisted eight, inspired an FA Cup win at Anfield and earned links with some of the Premier League’s biggest clubs, his compatriot has had to contend with a place on the bench more often than not.

He’s started only 13 games all season, scoring just five times as he struggled to win over Lambert.

A recent explosion of form, starting with a match-winning cameo against Brentford and a goal in his first start since January against Fulham, has raised hopes that Caveleiro can finally showcase his undoubted potential at Molineux.

However, with Lambert seemingly unconvinced, you get the feeling that he cannot afford another false dawn. Otherwise his stay in the Midlands may be a short one.