“This is the team we were dreaming of,” Bruno Lage declared the day after the transfer window closed.
“I had the strength and the power to convince the people to bring these players, so now it’s time to be behind the players. The good things will come.”
Not even a week later WolvesAndy Carroll was apparently on their shortlist to receive a free transfer. From dream team to 33-year old released by West Bromwich Albion. That escalated quickly, boy!
The rest was just that. new £15 million striker Sasa KalajdzicAn anterior cruciate ligament injury was sustained His debut against Southampton.
However, this does not explain how Wolves went from a complete squad to near desperation in just a few days. They have Raul JimenezThey also have five talented, high-priced forwards and only twelve other players. Premier LeagueGames until January window opens
So why have they forced themselves into the free agent market to buy a player in Diego Costa who, while once of the world’s most fearsome strikers, has only played 19 matches in 20 months and was basically semi-retired? Carroll was there as a backup option in case Costa’s contract fell through. But, if you look deeper, you will see that both Costa and Carroll were viable options for Wolves.
This idea dates back to November 2020. Jimenez fractured his skull while battling heads with another man. Arsenal’s David Luiz. Jimenez, thankfully made a complete recovery, and was playing again nine months later.Doctors told him that he had a miracle.However, it is clear that he is not the exact same player in terms of his goalscoring output.
Wolves believed that he could return to his former self after a full year of integrating into top-flight football (he was a 34-year-old player who scored six goals and set up four more), He was the player who scored 44 goals in all competitions between 2018-19, and 2019-20.
Jimenez is still searching for his best form (Photo: Jack Thomas – WWFC/Wolves via Getty Images)
This is due to Jimenez’s knee injury that has impeded his progress during the campaign. But whether Jimenez is or isn’t playing up front, Wolves lack an aerial presence in the opposition box.
From the day he joined Wolves to the day he suffered that fateful injury, only two players registered more headed attempts at goal than Jimenez’s 56 (Aleksandar Mitrovic Dominic Calvert-Lewin). He scored nine goals using his head.
Jimenez has been a Wolves shopper since August 2021, when he wore it again. Jimenez currently ranks joint-27th among Premier League players who have attempted to head a goal.
Wolves are also crossing less balls (they were ninth in open-play cross scoring from August 2018 through November 2020, but they dropped to 17th last year). This is partly due to Bruno Lage taking over Nuno Espirito Sante’s role and partly because there is no aerial goal threat in their box. Lage asked about this a few times, asking what the point of crossing against tall centre-back teams.
Jimenez never shied away from a header and at one point, he was winning more aerial duels than before his injury. But it was his inability of accurately direct the ball’s direction that caused him to become frustrated. Sometimes he threw his headband down when subbed and even removed it in the last stages of a match against. Brentford. While the headband is more compact, some issues still remain. Since returning to action, he is still looking for the net with a headpiece.
That is why Wolves attempted to sign the 6ft 5in Kieffer Moore last summer. They considered Oli McBurnie (6ft2in), Divock Origi (6ft2in), and Willian Jose (6ft2in). When Jimenez was out, Kalajdzic (6ft7in) was signed. Last week, Carroll (6ft4in), was also on their shortlist.
A focal point is essential for wolves. Anyone who saw them outplay gifted animals knows that they need a focal point. Tottenham HotspurFor the first 45 minutes, the match saw a side that was brimming over with technical brilliance, precision passing, pace and combinations.
Pedro Neto, Daniel Podence, Goncalo Guedes, Adama TraoreHwang Shee-chan and Hwang Wee-chan, all forwards, but no strikers. They are, however, not finishers, as their career goals suggest. They don’t like being focal points. Instead, they prefer running towards the goal rather than standing still. Costa’s strong suit.
Costa’s last club was Atletico Mineiro (Photo: Pedro Vilela/Getty Images)
While Kaladjzic’s injury is incredibly unfortunate, Wolves are at this juncture because they left it late to sign a striker (Jimenez’s only back-up, Fabio SilvaAnderlecht had loaned him the team for the season in middle of July), and then bought one with a history of injury (Kaladjzic played only 15 games last season and missed nearly the entire 2019-20 season with a cruciate Ligament rupture).
They gambled with him on Costa, which is more injury-prone than usual, but it’s a much cheaper option. There is less risk and more potential for reward if they can increase his fitness. Brazil saw him rekindle his magic.. Costa could distract and annoy even if he was on crutches near the opposition penalty box.
He is the Wolves’ first striker signed on for free since Frank Nouble in 2012. Hopefully, Costa will do better than Nouble’s two league appearances and no goals, but it is another indicator of how far they have progressed as a club in the last decade.
Costa is one of the most high-profile signings in the club’s history. In recent times it’s up there with the double capture of former Manchester UnitedTitle winners Denis Irwin and Paul Ince in 2002, when Wolves were still a Championship team. Another “wow” moment.
Is he a success? No idea. This venture will be boring? It is not.
(Top Photo: Jack Thomas – WWFC/Wolves via Getty Images)
