Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Leo Bonatini is enduring a rough spell at the moment.
If and when Wolverhampton Wanderers secure their promotion to the Premier League, Leo Bonatini can say he played a big role in such an achievement.
The Brazilian striker has netted 12 Championship goals since joining Wolves on a season-long loan from Al-Hilal and for a long time it seemed like a no-brainer that Nuno should do everything he could to make the deal a permanent one this summer.
But with no goals in his last 10 Championship games, is Bonatini cut out for the Premier League?
There is a huge gulf in class between the top flight and the second tier and Wolves fans need only look at Newcastle United’s struggles this season to understand the importance of signing a proven Premier League goalscorer after winning promotion to the promised land.
Dwight Gayle was a revelation in the Championship last term, netting 23 goals in 26 starts, but the 28-year-old has managed to score only three times this season.
With that in mind, it’s certainly worth asking the question whether Bonatini would be a help or a hindrance in the Premier League and unless he has an outstanding end to the season, Nuno needs to seriously consider not signing him up on a permanent basis.
Wolves, if they go up, are going to need all the goals they can get next season and Bonatini’s rough patch doesn’t bode well for his capacity to be a prolific goalscorer in the big time and can Nuno really justify keeping him at the expense of a tried-and-tested Premier League man?
Not signing him would be ruthless, but football is a cut-throat business and unless Bonatini wipes off the cobwebs and has a brilliant, goal-laden last four months then Nuno must seriously consider whether he has showed enough to be an asset in the top flight.
According to The Birmingham Mail, he would cost £5 million to join permanently and perhaps Wolves should put that toward a better, Premier League-hardened striker.
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