Wolverhampton Wanderers have improved massively this season from their 13th-place finish in the Premier League last term.
Although the Wanderers are only tenth in the table, they’ve already matched last season's entire point tally with nine matches to go.
The reason for this development was the acquisition of manager Gary O'Neil, who has arguably been one of the signings of the season.
However, there was once the possibility in the summer for Wolves to sign a man who would’ve had an even bigger influence on the club than the boss.
Wolves' interest in Viktor Gyokeres
According to a recent report from Portugal’s Record via Sports Witness, Wolves were extremely close to signing former Coventry City star Viktor Gyokeres in the summer of 2023.
It is reported that the Premier League club had offered the Swede the best opportunity, but a mishap in regards to Jeff Shi being unable to release the funds meant that the deal momentarily collapsed.
This gave a window of opportunity for another club to swoop in and steal the striker, which is exactly what Sporting CP did, signing Gyokeres for just £20m.
Today, that move was without doubt a bargain for the Portuguese side, who now have him valued at £86m, the same as his release clause, after an absolutely insane 2023/24 campaign.
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ByTom LeverMar 24, 2024 How Gyokeres would have fit in at Wolves
Just like O’Neil, Matheus Cunha joined Wolves in the summer of a permanent move from Atletico Madrid in a deal worth £44m, which makes him the most expensive signing in the club’s history.
Luckily, the Brazilian has certainly justified the large costs that were attached to his signature, tearing up the Premier League this season with nine goals and six assists in 24 starts.
The 24-year-old is a versatile attacker who can play across the front line and even as an attacking midfielder, but he has mainly played as a left-sided centre forward behind Hwang Hee-Chan, who’s scored ten goals but hasn’t proven to create for others, as shown by his three assists.
Meanwhile, in Portugal, Gyokeres had been making a name for himself as one of the most feared centre forwards, with his output of 36 goals and 14 assists across all competitions really speaking for themselves.
Goals
0.78
Top 4%
Assists
0.38
Top 1%
Key passes
2.13
Top 1%
Shot-creating actions
4.80
Top 1%
Touches (Att pen)
8.82
Top 1%
Progressive carries
4.05
Top 1%
Successful take-ons
2.29
Top 2%
As you can see by his statistics over the last year across Europe comparing him to his positional peers, the 25-year-old is a striker who can simply do anything, whether that’s link-up play, run the channels, or, of course, his main task, score goals.
There’s no doubt that with the quality of Cunha, Hwang, and Pedro Neto behind him, Gyokeres would have been a handful in the Premier League while also improving those around him, and in particular the Brazilian due to his ability to score and create.
At times this season, Wolves have missed that true number nine who can score a goal from absolutely nothing, and had they secured the signature of Gyokeres, it’s reasonable to presume that a European spot could have been achieved.
