The £3m Wolves man whose signing was an absolute disaster: View | OneFootball

Wolves are now established in the Premier League, and the aim of Gary O’Neil will be to build a team that can regularly finish in the top ten in the years to come.

For younger Wolves fans, six successive years in the top-flight represents huge success, as there have been a lot of tough times over the past two decades, with the low point undoubtedly coming when Wanderers were relegated to League One in 2013.

Wolves’ 2012 spending spree was supposed to get them back to the Premier League

It’s fair to say that was a relegation few saw coming. After dropping from the Premier League to the Championship, Wolves were expected to be in the mix to bounce back straight away.

Stale Solbakken had been brought in as the new head coach, and he arrived with real pedigree, having won five Danish titles in six years with Copenhagen.

As well as that, he was backed financially by Championship standards back then, even if the incomings were funded by a few big sales.

In total, Solbakken spent around £15m, with the likes of Tongo Doumbia, Bakary Sako and Bjorn Sigurdarson among those who made the move to Molineux.

Sako was the only success story of that summer spree, with Razak Boukari another who signed for a seven-figure outlay - and it was a deal that did not work out at all.

Razak Boukari’s time at Wolves was a disaster

The £3 million winger was seen as a real coup for Wolves at the time, as he had made over 100 appearances in the French top-flight for Lens and Rennes, and he had amassed a decent record too, scoring seven league goals in 38 appearances for the latter over an 18-month period before the switch.

As well as that, the Togo international was 25, so he was a player with experience, but also someone entering his peak, and his pace and direct style were seen as key to Solbakken’s approach.

With Sako and Boukari down the flanks, Wolves hoped to have dynamic, quick wingers that would give them a huge attacking threat. On paper, it looked good, and Sako certainly held up his side of the bargain.

Razak Boukari’s injury issues hampered his Wolves career

Unfortunately, Boukari’s impact was restricted by a series of injuries, which meant he incredibly only made six appearances in Old Gold after signing a four-year contract with Wolves in 2012.

The wide man initially suffered a calf problem that was expected to keep him out for six weeks, but further complications arose. Then, after returning, Boukari would seem to have issue after issue, including with his hamstrings.

The situation at Wolves changed significantly after their relegation to League One during Boukari’s first season, and, as a high earner, he was always someone they would have tried to shift.

Yet, his injury situation meant that moving him on was always going to be a really difficult task, which proved to be the case.

Boukari would have a loan spell at Sochaux, but, once more, he was rarely available, as he struggled to find the consistency he had shown prior to his Wolves move.

In the end, Boukari would leave the Black Country side on a free transfer contract expired in 2016. Sadly, for Wolves and Sochaux, he featured in only 17 games in all competitions over that period.

Following his exit, Boukari returned to France, joining Chateauroux, the club where he started out, who were a third-tier side at the time.

Even though injuries would continue to impact the player, he did make 88 appearances over a five-year period, before leaving in 2022.

Boukari will always be viewed as a high-profile flop for Wolves, and a signing that was made as they continued on a downward trajectory at an embarrassing time in their modern history.

There’s no denying it was a deal that spectacularly backfired, but you do have huge sympathy for Boukari, who was unable to kick-on in his career and fulfil his undoubted potential due to cruel luck on the injury front.