Wolves striker Raúl Jiménez is not on the same level as he once was – and it seems Bruno Lage is struggling to get the best out of him.
That is according to journalist Dean Jones, who was speaking to GiveMeSport about the latest from Molineux ahead of their latest Premier League clash this weekend.
Jiménez has been a fantastic servant for Wolves since his initial loan signing from Benfica in the summer of 2018, scoring 48 goals and providing 18 assists in 110 appearances between his signing and November 2020, according to Transfermarkt.
However, after suffering a fractured skull in a Premier League clash at Arsenal in the 2020/21 campaign, the 93-time Mexico international was forced to miss the remainder of that season before making a remarkable comeback to football at the beginning of last term.
Unfortunately for the 31-year-old striker, he has been unable to hit the same heights as he did at Wolves, scoring just seven goals and providing five assists in his last 40 appearances for the West Midlands side, which is understandable given the severity of his injury.
However, Jones believes that Jiménez is “just not the same player” as he used to be, appearing to suggest he is now past his best.
He said: “Raul Jimenez is just not the same player he was.
“And he’s [Lage] tried to give him opportunities, and that same drive doesn’t even seem to be there as it once was for him.”
TIF Thoughts on Jones’ comments…
We agree with Jones and believe that Jiménez is no longer at the peak of his powers – and Wolves’ signings of Diego Costa and Saša Kalajdžic may suggest the club think the same way. However, due to Kalajdžic’s anterior cruciate ligament injury and young striker Fábio Silva being loaned out to Anderlecht for the season, it looks as if the club still require the services of the former Atlético Madrid striker.
Therefore, we believe that whilst Jiménez will struggle to ever recreate his pre-injury form at Molineux, we think that the striker still has a place in Bruno Lage’s Wolves squad.