Wolverhampton Wanderers have recently confirmed the signing of striker Diego Costa.
The club announced the 33-year-old’s arrival on their social media platforms on Monday afternoon after Saša Kalajdžic, who signed for the club for a fee of £15m on deadline day, suffered a knee ligament injury in his first game.
Costa joins having been released from Brazilian side Atlético Mineiro in January, but Wolves’ need for a striker has encouraged the West Midlands side to make a move for the former Chelsea star.
The arrival of the physical striker is sure to ruffle some feathers at Molineux, and here we take a look at some of the potential knock-on effects that could occur following his arrival…
Another obstacle for Fabio Silva
Though Costa has only signed a contract at Wolves until the end of the season, you would expect that if the experienced forward does well, he will be offered the chance to extend his stay beyond the current campaign.
This may have a negative effect on the club’s former record signing Fábio Silva, who is currently enjoying a successful spell out on loan in Belgium with Anderlecht.
The 20-year-old striker was signed from FC Porto for a fee of £35.6m back in September 2020, but the young striker has rarely been given the opportunity to develop under head coach Bruno Lage, resulting in his loan move this season.
However, it was hoped that a successful loan move could be the springboard Silva needs to kickstart his career, but the eight-time Portugal U21 international now finds himself in a situation where he could be behind Costa, Raúl Jiménez and Kalajdžic at the beginning of next season.
Therefore, whilst it looks like a positive move on the face of it for Wolves, should their new signing hit the ground running, it’s a struggle to see where Silva would go from that point.
A disruptive figure enters the dressing room
It is no secret that Costa is a lively character both on and off the pitch, and whilst there is an argument that this could be exactly what Wolves need, there’s a chance that the 24-cap Spain international may have a negative effect on the harmony within the club.
Antonio Conte previously admitted that Costa was a particularly troublesome presence during his time at Chelsea, with the striker trying to push through a move to former club Atlético Madrid or the Chinese Super League.
However, Jose Mourinho described the striker as “an animal” during the time the pair spent together at Stamford Bridge, in an interview in which he expressed his admiration of Costa.
Much of the current Wolves man’s form may depend on how manager Lage can keep the striker on his side, whilst rediscovering the form that made him one of the world’s best strikers during his time in the Premier League, when the Brazil-born forward scored 59 goals in 120 Chelsea appearances, according to Transfermarkt.
TIF Thoughts…
It’s certainly looking to be an interesting few months ahead at Molineux. Costa’s history brings positive and negative elements with him, and which aspects will reveal themselves as he returns to English football remains to be seen.
Unfortunately for Wolves, regardless of whether these two particular scenarios come to pass, their signing of the two-time Premier League winner was a case of needs must for Lage. Therefore, they are going to have to tackle any problems head-on from here on in, and while they are by no means guaranteed to happen, this does appear to be a move with plenty of risks involved.
Well raul is 32 and struggling recently and if he doesn’t get his form back Wolves will let go. The new lad is under acl injury and probably out for rest of season and might always be injured. Silva would be needed and Costa if he does well.
Of course, everything could go well but Wolves will always keep the younger players it’s a very young team they prefer to play.