Wolves didn’t have too many issues in 2023/24 scoring goals in the end – but the club still missed out on a player who has been an absolute machine in front of goal this season.
One of the biggest issues Wolves have had since returning to the Premier League is getting the ball in the back of the net.
Goals were not free-flowing under Nuno Espirito Santo or Bruno Lage, and the net didn’t ripple too often under Julen Lopetegui during his brief stint at Molineux.
But Gary O’Neil did address this problem fairly successfully, with Wolves scoring 50 goals in the league in 2023/24. This was 19 more than the season before.
Matheus Cunha and Hwang Hee-chan were the main sources of the goals, scoring 12 each in the league.
But one does wonder if Wolves might have been even more potent had they managed to land Viktor Gyokeres last summer, with the striker having just finished an extraordinary season at Sporting CP…
Former Wolves target Viktor Gyokeres hits 43 goals and 15 assists in first season with Sporting CP
Gyokeres enjoyed a really fruitful 2022/23 season with Coventry City as he scored 22 goals for the club helping them to reach the Championship play-offs.
Unfortunately for him, Coventry came unstuck at the final hurdle against Luton Town, and they remained in the Championship.
But Gyokeres would not stick around, with Sporting CP snapping him up – and what a signing he has proven to be.
The Sweden international was expected to do fairly well given his exploits for Coventry. But no one could have foreseen the numbers he has actually put up.
In 49 appearances across all competitions, Gyokeres has plundered an incredible 43 goals. Not only that, he has also shown his creative side, tabling 15 assists.
His contributions helped Sporting to win the league title, and Ruben Amorim’s side can do the double by beating FC Porto in Sunday’s Taça de Portugal.
How close did Wolves come to signing Gyokeres?
What a remarkable campaign Gyokeres has had over in Portugal, and it’s difficult not to think about what might have been for Wolves.
It was reported last summer that Wanderers were actually in pole position to land the star at one point. Apparently, the club had made him a priority target.
On June 22 Wolves were reported to be still pushing for the player, but Sporting were in the picture at that point.
By July 13, Gyokeres was a Sporting player, and in his first interview with the club, the 25-year-old admitted that he had other options, implying Wolves, but that Sporting were the team who showed him the most interest.
There were never any reports of any official bids from Wanderers though. As everyone now knows, the club were having financial difficulties at the time.
It is a real shame that Wolves couldn’t get him, because Gyokeres – who Dave Edwards compared to Raul Jimenez – is now one of the most coveted strikers in Europe.
Of course, he likely wouldn’t have been so free-scoring had he joined Wolves and played in the Premier League. But his record for Sporting in 2023/24 does suggest him as being a player Wanderers missed out on.