Wolverhampton Wanderers had an impressive season in 2023/24, a campaign where many felt that they would be contenders for relegation.
This was a sentiment shared by many, notably the BBC’s chief football writer Phil McNulty, who predicted the Midlands side to finish 18th, and claimed he had a “very, very worrying feeling” about Gary O’Neil’s side.
Yet, Wolves defied the critics to finish an impressive 14th in the Premier League last season. They ended on 46 points, 20 points clear of the relegation zone, and were agonisingly close to a top-half finish. O’Neil’s team finished just three points behind tenth place Crystal Palace.
Wolves’ star players made some significant contributions throughout the team. Their leading scorer, Brazilian forward Matheus Cunha, finished with 14 goals and an outstanding eight assists.
Pedro Neto contributed 11 assists and scored twice himself, while Hwang Hee-chan scored 13 goals and provided three assists as well.
This season has given Wolves a superb platform to build from under O’Neil. They have already been linked with some players in the transfer window, although there is one player in particular who is thought to be of keen interest to the club.
Wolves target Premier League striker
The player in question here is Chelsea and Albania Armando Broja, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Fulham. Now, the striker has thought to have been given the green light for a departure from Stamford Bridge in the summer.
At least, that is according to reliable Sky Sports journalist Lyall Thomas, who reports that Wolves are one of three Premier League sides, along with Everton and Southampton, who are all said to be interested in a deal for the Albanian, who will be at Euro 2024 this summer with his country.
However, Thomas explains in his report that none of the interested teams, including Wolves “currently cannot afford him” due to financial restraints on the current side. Thus, they would all “need to sell a player” in order to acquire his services.
Broja’s contract is still pending, but Football Observatory values him at £16.8 million. It seems unlikely that he will cost less than that because his Stamford Bridge contract doesn’t expire until 2028. Chelsea might even ask more because, according to talkSPORT, they requested £50 million in January.
Why Broja would be a good signing
It is fair to say that Broja’s past two seasons have not gone as he would have hoped. Following two successful loan spells, with Vitesse where he scored ten league goals in the Netherlands, and Southampton where he scored six times in the Premier League, he returned to Chelsea but has struggled for opportunities.
He has played 25 times in the top flight for the Blues across two seasons, but has only scored twice, and failed to find the net for Fulham in eight appearances. Despite that, he is still a good centre-forward, with one content creator describing him as “special” back in 2022 when he was at Chelsea.
Nevertheless, if Broja joins Wolves, he may ultimately establish himself as Raul Jimenez’s replacement—the club record Premier League goal scorer.
The Mexican was among the top scorers in the Premier League for two seasons, scoring 13 goals in 2018–19 and 17 goals in 2019–20. However, he was sidelined for eight months after suffering a horrific head injury against Arsenal that resulted in a broken skull.
After his recovery, Jimenez played two more seasons at Wolves but departed last summer for Broja’s loan club, Fulham.
They have struggled to find a proper centre-forward to replace him with, and although goals from Cunha have been crucial, it has at times felt like they have lacked a presence up front. They scored 50 goals in the Premier League last term which was better than only five clubs, as per Understat.
The aforementioned video producer, Broja, claims that his “ball-striking and physicality” are two of his strongest suit. Perhaps he is the answer. When he challenges defenders, his physicality is undoubtedly evident. According to Fbref, the Albanian international averages 6.14 take-ons per ninety minutes and completes 2.49 of them, ranking him among the top 1% of attackers in Europe.
The addition of a confident, streaking center-forward who takes chances in the box could be just what this Wolves team needs to advance. Under O’Neil, the project has gotten off to a fantastic start, and a signing like Broja might encourage them to go for greater honors the following year.
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