Gary O’Neil will be hopeful of adding more quality to his Wolves squad this summer, with one player standing out as a talent who could fill a big void.
The 2023/24 season closed last week, seeing Gary O’Neil’s first campaign at Molineux end in underwhelming circumstances.
Wolves collected just five points from a possible 30 in their final 10 Premier League games, seeing the encouraging term end with a 14th-place finish.
Although form fizzled away in the run-in, O’Neil ensured that his squad improved on last season’s point tally by five, in what was a campaign full of ups and downs.
READ MORE: Wolves player ratings for 2023/24 season, Ait-Nouri and Lemina shine but there’s one 2/10
The manager’s first year could have ended far better however, it could have also ended far worse considering the mess that the Englishman walked into just days before the opener, being forced to navigate the season with a small squad.
Wolves offloaded a list of star talent in the summer of 2023 due to financial woes, with one figure being Raul Jimenez, whose past form remains as a void waiting to be filled, something O’Neil could solve this summer with one possible signing.
Wolves must target Serhou Guirassy this summer
Throughout the season, the manager has expressed his desire to have more forwards in his side, particularly a reliable number nine, with the versatile Hwang Hee-chan standing alone in that category.
With that in mind, O’Neil could be tempted to revisit a target from January, as the Old Gold were linked with VfB Stuttgart forward, Serhou Guirassy.
The reason why Wolves may be tempted to fight for the 28-year-old once more is due to his remarkably slim price tag, sporting a release clause of just €17.5m (£15m).
Only Harry Kane netted more goals in the 2023/24 Bundesliga than Guirassy, hinting at the quality he could offer O’Neil’s side if interest was to re-emerge.
Serhou Guirassy could be Gary O’Neil’s own Raul Jimenez
Wolves haven’t had a reliable number nine since Jimenez, whose form devastatingly dropped off after he suffered a life-threatening head injury back in 2020.
The Mexican was instrumental to the Old Gold’s Premier League success under Nuno Santo, netting 30 goals over the 2018/19 and 2019/20 seasons, a clinical streak that the club haven’t seen since.
Now that Nuno’s marksman has departed and O’Neil has put his stamp on the squad, the hunt for the next Jimenez could end this summer if Wolves were to offer the £15m fee for Guirassy, who has shown just how reliable he is in front of goal.
Over the 2023/24 season, the Stuttgart frontman proved to be one of the most clinical strikers in Europe, recording a higher conversion rate (30%) than Premier League Golden Boot winner Erling Haaland (22%).
The impact that Jimenez’s presence had on Wolves is something that is needed once more, with the table above proving that Guirassy could be just that when comparing the Mexican’s prime season at Wolves to the Bundesliga ace’s 2023/24 campaign.
Lauded as ‘unstoppable’ by scout Antonio Mango, a striker as clinical and reliable as the Stuttgart marksman is hard to find, let alone for a price of just £15m, which could particularly excite Wolves.
After missing out on Viktor Gyokeres last summer due to finances, O’Neil will be eager for history not to repeat itself, with Guirassy proving to be a gamble worth taking.