Home of football statistics and historyOne of the lasting memories of Wolves’ romp to the Championship title during the 2017/2018 season was the sound of their fans, either home or away, singing about their manager, Nuno Espírito Santo, having an inspired dream. The song would echo around Molineux during freezing winter nights and it would be sung during the warm days of late spring when Wolves lifted the Championship trophy after accumulating 99 points.
The lyrics to this song went ‘Nuno had a dream, to build a football team, with Chinese owners and a wonder kid from Porto, with five at the back, and pace in attack, we’re Wolverhampton and we’re on our way back.’ It was an iconic song that was the soundtrack to Wolves blowing the Championship out of the water but, three years on, Nuno’s dream is fast turning into a nightmare.
Wolves no longer blowing divisions away
🐺📢 "Nuno had a dream,
— The Sportsman (@TheSportsman) September 3, 2018
To build a football team,
With Chinese owners and a wonder kid from Porto,
With 3 at the back,
And pace in attack,
We’re Wolverhampton, we’re on our way back"
Wolves. Are. Back!
(📹 @SkyJohnnyP)#WWFC pic.twitter.com/yO5kQ6WsIZ
The long and short of it is that Wolves have stopped scoring. Only four other teams have scored fewer goals than Wolves this season, which suggests that, without reinforcements of sorts over the summer, Nuno’s men could be fighting a relegation battle next season. As for the rest of this season, Wolves will canter home safely with only two games left to play. Both, however, are against teams desperate to gatecrash the top four. Indeed, Spurs and Everton lie in wait for Wolves and despite their Premier League odds at around the 18/1 mark suggesting that a top-four finish is unlikely, one can be sure that the pair will throw the kitchen sink at Wolves. As far as Wolves are concerned, all they will want to do is get through to the end of the season and begin rebuilding.
The buzz phrase around Molineux is a ‘big summer ahead’ but that drastically undersells, by some margin, the importance of Wolves successfully fixing their goal-scoring issues before the 2021/2022 season begins. The good news for the club is that talismanic striker Raúl Jiménez should be back for the opening game of the season following a fractured skull suffered against Arsenal at the end of November. The striker’s absence has left Wolves woefully short of options upfront and has underlined how invaluable the Mexcian actually is in this Wolves side.
When you take into account the serious nature of Jiménez’s injury, Wolves will still have to assess their options in the transfer market, given that there is no guarantee that the 30-year-old will be the same player that he was when he returns. Understandably, the thought of another sickening collision will be in the back of the striker’s mind and that could potentially affect the style of play that made him so successful in the Premier League.
Wolves have confirmed Raul Jimenez suffered a fractured skull against Arsenal on Sunday.
— Goal (@goal) November 30, 2020
The Mexican is now 'comfortable' and 'resting' after undergoing surgery.
Wishing you a speedy recovery, @Raul_Jimenez9. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/cX67V4BIPq
Spain-linked players could be Nuno’s saviours
One of those options for Wolves is the chance to sign Willian José for £18 million from Real Sociedad when his loan at Molineux comes to the end, but that seems unlikely for a number of reasons. Whilst the Brazilian has been good at holding the ball up, he lacks the all-important awareness that Jiménez has in the box, and his return of one goal in 15 appearances is simply not good enough to keep Wolves in the division next season.
Nuno could pass on José and instead decide to bring Rafa Mir back to the club after his loan with Huesca expires. Given how prolific Mir has been in Spain this season, that will naturally be an option that excites the Wolves fans. All in all, the 23-year-old has netted 15 times in La Liga and astonishingly is in the reckoning to be called up to the Spanish side for the Euros in the summer.
OH MY WORD!! 😱😱
— Premier Sports 📺 (@PremierSportsTV) May 8, 2021
Rafa Mir's excellent season for Huesca continues with this absolutely audacious effort to catch the keeper off his line 🔥 pic.twitter.com/w6BYLl8YyK
Indeed, Mir is the second-top Spanish scorer in the league, which is quite extraordinary when you consider that Huesca have been fighting for their La Liga lives the entire season. Mir’s contract at Molineux expires in the summer of 2022, so Wolves will have to make a decision on his future over the summer. With Valencia sniffing around the striker, it may turn out that the Spaniard opts to stay in his home country. It does feel like Mir holds all the power now after such a fruitful season in Spain.
The last option Wolves have is to persist with their record club signing Fabio Silva, who has only managed four goals in 29 Premier League games. However, asking the Portuguese youngster to lead the line next season and score the goals Wolves need to secure their Premier League status would naturally require taking a massive leap of faith. There’s no doubt that Silva has the qualities to successfully do this in seasons to come, but one feels that the 18-year-0ld is not at the required level just yet.
Alas, there are no easy answers for Wolves as they begin to address a chronic shortage of goals. One thing’s for certain, though, Nuno’s summer won’t be spent on a Mediterranean sun lounger. The 47-year-old will have to postpone any idyllic break in order to make sure his football dream doesn’t turn into a nightmare next season.
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