Wolves: Gary O’Neil now has another ‘big problem’ at Molineux

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·28 September 2023

Wolves: Gary O’Neil now has another ‘big problem’ at Molineux

Highlights

Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Gary O'Neil is facing a big problem as no player is stepping up to replace the goalscoring abilities of departed striker Raul Jimenez.
The team's struggles in front of goal have been evident, with only one win and a lack of reliable goal scorers in the squad.
Transfer insider Dean Jones suggests that Wolves may need to look for reinforcements in the upcoming transfer window, particularly focusing on finding a persistent source of goals.

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Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Gary O’Neil has endured a tough run of results in 2023/24 and transfer insider Dean Jones has highlighted a ‘big problem’ he has yet to iron out, while speaking to GIVEMESPORT.

Currently sat just above the relegation zone, the Molineux-based outfit have the small matter of Manchester City next on the agenda.

Wolverhampton Wanderers news – Latest

A 13th-placed finish last season in the English topflight for Wolves may sound pretty comfortable to the naked ear, but they only evaded the drop zone by a mere seven points. The battle to stay up was just as – if not more – intense then the race for the title in 2022/23 and Wolves were among the lucky ones to retain their status as a Premier League side for at least one more campaign.

And proceedings this time around have also not gone exactly to plan and much can be attributed to their mass exodus of stars that came to fruition over the summer months.

They were unlucky to walk away from their opening league fixture against Manchester United without any share of the spoils, having bettered the Red Devils’ 15 shots by eight (23), per FotMob. Perhaps on that occasion they were unlucky not to get the rub of the green, but they have enjoyed just the one win against Everton in their opening six games since which highlights the onerous task O’Neil has on his hands.

And while they have conceded the third-most goals in the division thus far (12), their frailties in front of goal have been equally alarming. Hwang Hee-chan is the club’s leading goalscorer with three goals, though the trio to follow: Matheus Cunha, Pedro Neto and Sasa Kalajdzic are all sitting on the solitary goal as things stand.

Formerly of Stuttgart, Kalajdzic signed for £15m last summer but was ruled out of action for the most part of the 2022/23 season with an ACL injury. Tasked with replacing Raul Jimenez, he has been unable to prove his worth at the Old Gold since his arrival and Jones believes O’Neil needs to find goals from somewhere to avoid the painful drop down the England’s second tier.

Gary O’Neil needs someone to fill the void of £5m departure – Dean Jones

On Wolves’ ever-growing problem in front of goal, transfer insider Jones suggested that no player in the current crop is stepping up to plate to alleviate the loss of Raul Jimenez, who left for £5m when Fulham came calling. Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, he said…

“Yeah, I mean, this is his [Gary O’Neil’s] big problem at the moment like he's got forward options, but nobody's taking the bull by the horns and making the position their own. They don't seem to have a go-To goalscorer at this moment in time. “And I think that, you know, one of the reasons that Raul Jimenez would have been allowed to move on and things didn't work out as because he was never going to be a reliable source of goals. And he's still proving that Fulham. So it's not like they made a mistake in that sense, but there's just nobody in his team that looks like they're going to score week after week.”

Are Wolverhampton Wanderers likely to stay in the Premier League?

Luckily for O’Neil and his group of players, the newly promoted trio of Burnley, Sheffield United and Luton Town are all struggling to find their feet while rubbing shoulders with the country’s elite. Finding themselves all on one point after six games have been played, all three clubs are tipped to fire back down at the end of the season.

Neto has been Wolves’ standout performer this campaign, though it has been Cunha that has typically been deployed in their solitary centre-forward berth. The nine-cap Brazilian, as mentioned earlier, has not been prolific from a goalscoring standpoint having amassed just one goal since his side’s 2023/24 season got underway at Old Trafford.

Recently, transfer insider Jones told GIVEMESPORT that £14m ace Hwang could be the player to step up and contribute for O’Neil’s strugglers and added the South Korean gem has been relatively dependable in previous seasons. Alternatively, the reliable reporter had previously told GIVEMESPORT that Wolves were looking to snare Southampton and Scotland forward Che Adams and may re-ignite their interest in January should their detrimental issues persist until the Christmas period.

With a contest against Pep Guardiola’s imperious Manchester City side on the horizon, O’Neil will be banking on them struggling on the back of their 1-0 loss to Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup – but knowing the treble winners, it’ll take much more to knock them off balance.