If it’s entertainment you want, rock-and-roll football with soaring crescendos and face-melting riffs, then Wolverhampton probably isn’t the place for you.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s larghetto approach sent supporters to sleep last season but successor Bruno Lage hasn’t exactly turned Molineux into a mosh-pit either.
In Wolves’ 19 Premier League games, the ball has hit the back of the net on just 28 occasions. In fact, bottom-of-the-table Norwich City (eight) are the only side who have troubled the scoreboard fewer times than the Black Country giants.
Norwich are also the only side who have mustered fewer shots-per-game than Wolverhampton Wanderers, as reported by WhoScored.
Yes, the injury-enforced absences of Hwang Hee-Chan and the magisterial Pedro Neto haven’t helped. Adama Traore and Francisco Trincao are out of form too.
Daniel Podence, meanwhile, is yet to rediscover the guile and spark he displayed during the first half of last term, before being sidelined with injury.
But even when Neto and Hwang were fit and firing, when Podence and Traore were at their dynamic best, Wolves were not exactly tearing Premier League defences to shreds.
As such, the relief, when Bruno Lage confirmed his intention to bring in new attacking options during the winter window, was positively palpable.
“I think we can find one more winger, a different striker, so we have two or three situations we can improve to manage better our squad,” explained Lage, who’s Benfica side scored 103 goals en route to the Primeira Liga title in 2019 (Sky Sports).
Can Wolves finally sign Divock Origi?
But with Wolves’ Chinese owners tightening the purse-strings in recent windows, finding a number nine capable of easing the burden on Raul Jimenez’s shoulders may be easier said than done.
Then again, perhaps not.
Because, according to The Telegraph, Liverpool could consider offers of just £7 million for Divock Origi this month. The Belgian is out of contract in the summer, after all, and £7 million is better than nothing at all.
Wolves are long-time admirers of Origi, missing out on a potential £20 million deal in the summer of 2019 (Goal).
The former Lille starlet, who scored the decisive goal in Liverpool’s Champions League victory over Tottenham Hotspur a few weeks earlier, wanted to fight for his place at Anfield at the time.
Two-and-a-half years on, it’s fair to say that fight has been lost, even if Origi refuses to hit the canvas.
Despite a terrific goals-per-game record – and the enduring admiration of Jurgen Klopp – Origi remains little more than a bench-warming back-up at Anfield and, with his contract running out, a decision over his future may be taken out of his hands.
Wolves, though, are crying out for a striker. And Origi needs a club where he can show off his talents on a more regular basis.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
