Wolves chairman Jeff Shi has admitted that the club miss one key player from Nuno Santo’s reign when assessing the Old Gold’s options in the summer transfer window.
Gary O’Neil steered Wolves to a 14th-place finish in his first season at Molineux, combatting a number of issues surrounding his squad throughout the campaign.
One of the Old Gold’s biggest downfalls was the lack of depth around the favoured XI, caused by a mass of departures in the 2023 summer transfer window in order to raise funds.
Fosun had to ensure that the Midlands club adhered to financial regulations to avoid a penalty, which was achieved at the expense of the squad.
Now, O’Neil will be eager to replenish his side in the upcoming transfer window, with chairman Jeff Shi recently admitting that the club are yet to replace one of Nuno Santo’s star players.
Jeff Shi says Wolves have struggled to replace Raul Jimenez
Shi has not been in Wolves fans’ good books recently, with the chairman bringing great controversy to Molineux last week regarding his statements surrounding the club’s ambitions and of course, the season ticket price increases.
Now speaking out on the squad’s plans for the summer, Shi explained that the Midlands side has ‘struggled’ without Nuno’s talisman Raul Jimenez, via Express and Star.
“We miss Raul so much. I admit the peak Raul is a player who is very hard to replace, at this position, we struggled to find a top one after his unfortunate injury.”
The chairman hinted that Wolves are yet to possess a player capable of filling the void left by the Mexican, whose searing form in the Midlands was devastatingly restricted after suffering a skull fracture in 2020.
It’s a statement that O’Neil won’t disagree with considering the manager’s plea to sign a striker in the January transfer window, in a market where there are very few talents able to act as clinically as Jimenez once did.
It will be difficult for Wolves to ever replace Raul Jimenez
Arriving on loan from Benfica, not many could have anticipated just how impactful Jimenez’s presence would be at Molineux over the 2018/19 season.
On Wolves’ return to the top-flight, the Old Gold secured a seventh-place finish and claimed a Europa League spot, with the Mexican playing an instrumental part in the success.
In his first taste of Premier League football, the striker contributed to 20 goals by scoring 13 and assisting seven, a tally bettered the campaign after as he netted 17 goals in the 2019/20 Premier League.
Wolves top scorers in the Premier League since Raul Jimenez arrived
The 2019/20 campaign was the last time that Molineux had a reliable number nine on show, as Jimenez scored 27 goals in all competitions, leading the club to the Europa League quarter-final.
Up until his injury, the Mexico international was an ever-reliable presence in the final third, something that the squad haven’t had since, and something that Wolves must look to replace.
For all of Shi’s controversial comments in recent weeks, the chairman’s valuation of Jimenez cannot be argued, as the 33-year-old’s form under Nuno was fundamental to the club’s growth as a whole.