SO swift has been the spread of pre-match light and firework shows across football over the past year or so, it has become something of an arms race.
At Celtic, a £4 million system installed for the start of this season puts on a six-minute light show, plunging Parkhead into darkness before turning it bright green. There’s something similar at the Emirates Stadium and St Mary’s Stadium, but Wolves surely put on the best such spectacle.
At Molineux, moments before kick off, lights, fire, music and even projections of blinking wolves' eyes combine to provide the big match build-up. In years gone by, this would have been grossly over the top for a team of Wolves’ stature, but this season it’s felt somewhat fitting. Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have lived up to the billing.
"The noise of Molineux was fantastic. The way they pushed the team over and over again was amazing."@Nuno's verdict on last night's @EmiratesFACup win over @ManUtd. #WOLMUN
— Wolves (@Wolves) March 17, 2019
Indeed, Wolves have provided one of the most compelling storylines of the 2018/19 season so far, with their FA Cup quarter final win over Manchester United on Saturday offering a suggestion that even greater things might soon come. With the help of a certain Portuguese super agent, Wolves have assembled a young and exciting team, but one talent stands out above all others.
Raul Jimenez arrived at Wolves, on loan from Benfica, with a point to prove. The Mexican striker, not so long ago, had been tipped for the top, signed by Atletico Madrid in the summer of 2014 as a replacement for Diego Costa. Keeping in mind that the Atleti production line of centre forwards had previously churned out Fernando Torres, Sergio Aguero, Radamel Falcao and the aforementioned Costa, much was expected of Jimenez.
Rather than joining such illustrious ranks, though, he instead found himself chewed up and spat out by the Spanish capital club. Just as Kevin Gameiro, Jackson Martinez, Mario Mandzukic and Luciano Vietto found, adapting to Diego Simeone’s system, particularly as a striker, takes self-sacrifice that proves to be beyond many.
Nonetheless, Jimenez used his experience at Atletico Madrid to become a more rounded centre-forward and that is manifesting itself in the performances of the 27-year-old this season. The Mexican has 15 goals for the campaign so far, with arguably his most significant strike to date coming in the weekend win over Man Utd. But there’s more to Jimenez’s game than just goals.
No player outside the top six has scored more goals than Raul Jimenez this season#WWFC #Wolves pic.twitter.com/8vX5TR3zQk
— Unibet (@unibet) February 23, 2019
He is strong at holding the ball up, at bringing others into play. This is partly why Jimenez has struck up such a strong partnership with another former Atleti alumni, Diogo Jota. For a team like Wolves who boast such creativity around the final third, Jimenez is the perfect frontman.
This should lead others to register an interest in the 27-year-old this summer. Jimenez, after all, is only loan at Wolves from Benfica, with a clause in the agreement between the two clubs meaning the Molineux club will have to stump up £32 million to keep the striker permanently. Premier League rivals should take note, especially Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur.
The former have struggled to find an effective frontman since the exit of Costa, while the latter have no real deputy for Harry Kane in the event of injury or suspension. In the case of both clubs, £32 million for a striker entering his peak years who has proven himself in the Premier League would be shrewd business.
Fortunately for Wolves, Jimenez appears happy in Wolverhampton. “I'd like to stay at the Wolves. I'm very happy,” the Mexican side in a recent interview. “A major project was created at Wolverhampton. It's not normal for a newly-promoted Premier League team to be fighting for a place in the Europa League.”
He’s right, it’s not normal and Jimenez is not a normal sort of centre forward. He is closer to someone like Roberto Firmino, an occupier of space, than someone like Kane, a refined and highly efficient goalscorer, and that makes him extremely valuable to Wolves. The worry for English football’s great over achievers is that he could be just as valuable to someone else.
