Things are looking a lot rosier for Wolves all of a sudden.
Of course, they aren’t completely out of the woods yet, but a win over Arsenal and then a draw with Leicester demonstrated they still have what it takes to mix it with the top half of the Premier League.
Though, could their squad for the back half of the campaign been bolstered more?
What’s the word?
January wasn’t a particularly busy month for Wolves but they did welcome a new striker to the club in the shape of Willian Jose.
However, it’s been revealed that Jeff Shi and the club’s recruitment team had another forward on their radar last month.
According to Transfermarkt (via Sport Witness), Wolves approached Frankfurt in a bid to sign Portuguese striker Andre Silva.
Atletico Madrid were also pursuing Silva but had a bid rejected for his services. This link certainly makes sense given he’s a client of super-agent Jorge Mendes.
The intermediary currently has a number of Wolves’ players on his books.
Forget Jose
This would have been a seriously eye-catching move for Nuno Santo and Shi to make. They were linked with a swoop for the 25-year-old in 2019 when he was still at Milan but he has come on leaps and bound since.
In fact, he’s far more prolific than Real Sociedad loanee, Jose. So far this season Silva has found the net on 18 occasions in just 21 outings compared to Jose’s meagre haul of four strikes. It’s been a near impeccable campaign for the striker who has earned comparisons to a certain Bayern Munich forward.
After scoring against Mainz last month, Frankfurt boss Adi Hutter commented: “Andre Silva is the solo forward up top, but he does it really well. He wasn't rewarded against Leverkusen, today he was. His composure on penalties reminds me of Robert Lewandowski, who always turns ice cold.”
Silva has gone from an erratic striker to one that shows remarkable composure in front of goal. Though, that’s not the sole reason Wolves should have signed him over Jose.
He’s confident in the penalty area, but most importantly has similarities to Raul Jimenez. Silva revealed what he brings to the Frankfurt attack last year: "My job at the moment, like a striker, is to score goals, to gain the ball in the air and to protect the ball in the front, so my teammates come more forward. So, I think it's my job. But the most important in the final is the three points or the winning."
Jimenez does a wonderful job of protecting the ball and you only need to look at Silva’s stats this term to realise what he could have offered to the Old Gold.
He has won 2.4 aerial duels per game which outmuscles Jimenez by 0.9. It’s a tally that also betters Jose’s in 2020/21 who has only prevailed in one aerial duel a match.
Hailed an "entertainer" for his performances this term, Molineux would surely have been a better place with Silva leading the line.
Depending on the cost, this would have been the perfect striker for Wolves in January. Let’s hope they don’t live to regret their decision.