da aviator aposta： This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…
da dobrowin： It is hard to assess Wolves’ season so far in the Premier League.
A 5-2 thrashing at the hands of Chelsea back in September sent all sorts of warning signals out of Molineux, but since then, Nuno Santo’s men have managed to defeat reigning champions Manchester City.
The west Midlands club currently occupy 13th spot after nine matches, despite losing just two of those games – the same number as four of the teams in the top five.
But Wolves have drawn more than anyone else in the division, so if a couple of those were wins instead, they’d be sitting in and around European contention again this term.
Raul Jimenez has been left with a lot to do in recent times as his regular strike partner Diogo Jota has been out through injury – together the pair were lethal last season as they combined for 22 goals and 12 assists, per WhoScored.
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Summer signing Patrick Cutrone just hasn’t taken his opportunities in the absence of the Portuguese forward, recording two dispossessions and four unsuccessful touches in his last two starts.
At the cost of £16m, the Italian could soon border on flop status in the old gold, but recent transfer reports should offer some sort of encouragement in dispelling that.
La Gazzetta dello Sport, via Calciomercato, claims Wolves have already put in an offer for AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie ahead of the January transfer window.
Other reports from Birmingham Live have suggested that the club are indeed after central midfielder, so there could well be some truth to these rumours – but for now, it remains to be seen.
It is a move that would make perfect sense for Cutrone, as the two played together at the Serie A giants.
Over two seasons at the club, Cutrone and Kessie featured in 77 matches together, averaging 1.82 points per game – that’s a total of nearly 70 points over the course of one Premier League season, which for example, would have had Wolves finish in sixth rather than seventh last term.
Although the pair did not directly contribute to a goal or assist involving the other, they still undoubtedly played their part towards their teammates doing precisely that.
In a box-to-box midfield role, Kessie scored 12 goals and assisted eight more while the 21-year-old striker bagged 27 goals and seven assists when they featured at the same time.
Cutrone could benefit from his former teammate linking back up with him as he will know his playing style better than anyone else in the squad. If the two could reignite the level of form shown during those two years at Milan, then it will only benefit Wolves in the long-run.
The Italy U21 international has scored just once in the English top-flight, but having a familiar face around could bring him the confidence he needs to finally kickstart his Molineux career.
However, Wolves could hit a stumbling block considering his agent labelled him as one of Milan’s ‘untouchables’, costing the club £24.5m two years ago.