With Wolves unbeaten in their last five Premier League games, it would appear that Nuno Santo has engineered somewhat of a revival at Molineux.
After the defeat to West Brom last month, fears of relegation started to be talked about at Wolves. However, they have shaken off those concerns by responding in an emphatic fashion over the last few weeks.
A win over Arsenal seemed to be the wake-up call that Nuno’s team needed but they are still struggling in one particular department; their attack.
The Old Gold did their best to strengthen that part of their squad in January. They had a bundle of targets but ultimately settled on Willian Jose following Raul Jimenez’s injury.
They secured the forward on loan from Real Sociedad with an option to buy him for £18m in the summer. However, after his first month at the club, it would be surprising if they saw his long-term future at Molineux.
Truth be told, Jose has been poor. He is yet to score for Wolves and his performance against Newcastle on Saturday was abject, to say the least. He completed just 11 passes and had fewer touches of the football than goalkeeper Rui Patricio.
The Brazilian has offered very little in the way of a presence in attack and perhaps, Jeff Shi and Nuno chose to sign the wrong player in January.
It would take a bold man at Wolves to admit that was the case but when they were chasing someone like Olivier Giroud, well,it is night and day in terms of form between him and Jose.
Chelsea signed the powerful striker for £18m back in 2018 and although he’s not been too prolific, he’s come up with some golden moments in a Blues shirt.
He scored four goals against Sevilla in the Champions League earlier this term, a performance that Glenn Hoddle described as “out of this world.”
For a tall man, he is blessed with magical feet, something his overhead kick goal against Atletico Madrid last week testifies. He is supreme in the air but like Jimenez, is comfortable in possession of the ball.
He brings players into play like very few in the game. You only need to look at how influential he’s been for France. They won the World Cup with Giroud at the top of their attack but he didn’t have a single shot on target in the entire tournament. They primarily used him in order for Kylian Mbappe and Antoine Griezmann to make runs off him.
Dubbed the best target man in world football by Eden Hazard, even the very best appreciate his play style.
For Wolves, a player with his attributes would have been game-changing. They miss a presence in attack and Giroud offers that in abundance.