Raul Jimenez is undoubtedly one of the finest Wolverhampton Wanderers players in the Premier League era. The Mexican centre-forward was deadly for the Old Gold and is their all-time top goalscorer in the top flight since 1992 when the Premier League began with 41 goals.
In total, the one-time Benfica star scored 57 goals for the club in 166 games. His form was especially good before his terrible head injury against Arsenal which took him eight months to recover from. At his current club Fulham, he is beginning to look close to his best again.
The Midlands club have never really managed to replace him since his departure, and whilst Matheus Cunha has supplemented the number of goals he scored, he is more of a second striker.
That said, summer signing Jorgen Strand Larsen is someone who has been impressive this season in front of goal.
Strand Larsen’s season so far
Wolves brought Strand Larsen in from Celta Vigo in the summer, signing him on a loan deal with the obligation to buy if there are certain conditions met. He will cost the Old Gold £23m if he does make a permanent move.
So far, he has impressed in a Wolves shirt. The centre-forward has played 13 times for the club, scoring four goals and grabbing three assists. He has been fairly consistent so far. The longest he has gone this term without a goal involvement is two games. It has been a good start to life in the Midlands.
Equally, the Norweigan centre-forward is currently second on the list of most goal involvements for the Old Gold this season. Cunha is the only player with more, with a standout haul of ten goals and assists to his name already.
Player
Goals
Assists
G/A per game
Matheus Cunha
7
3
0.76
Jorgen Strand Larsen
4
3
0.53
Goncalo Guedes
4
1
0.45
Rayan Ait-Nouri
3
2
0.38
Mario Lemina
1
3
0.28
It will certainly be pleasing for Wolves fans to see their summer signing enjoying a good campaign so far. He is certainly stepping up now Jimenez has left the club, and they will be hoping he can continue his fine form into the festive period.
Strand Larsen’s form is encouraging, and there might well be another deadly striker at the club next season if one star who is out on loan can continue his form next season.
Wolves' in-form loan star
The player in question here is Fabio Silva. The Portuguese striker has not had an easy ride playing for the Old Gold but is enjoying life out on loan this season with La Liga side Las Palmas. He has four goals and one assist in ten games for the club so far.
Incredibly, the former Porto star is just one goal this season behind his entire tally for Wolves. He has scored five times and has six assists in 72 appearances. Given they paid £35.6m for him in 2020 as an 18-year-old, this is a disappointing return.
After several loan spells, it must be a relief for Silva to have found his best form in front of goal, and he has certainly reaped the rewards so far. The 22-year-old recently made his debut for the Portugal senior team, a 19-minute cameo against Croatia in the Nations League.
Manager Roberto Martinez was full of praise for the Wolves striker in the days leading up to his debut. He called him “a different player” to the one Old Gold fans have seen, and the fact he gave him a senior bow shows the faith he has in him.
There is perhaps still hope at Wolves that their former teenage prodigy can come good. He is on par in terms of goals this season with Strand Larsen, and if he can translate that form over to the Premier League, they would have two talented young strikers on their books, and, finally, some genuine replacements for Jimenez.
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