What an instantaneous affect Vítor Pereira has made at Wolverhampton Wanderers.
When Gary O’Neil was sacked in mid-December, Wolves had simply misplaced 4 successive Premier League matches, successful solely three of their final 26, courting again to early-March.
Thus, few would’ve forecast Pereira’s reign would begin with back-to-back victories, hammering Leicester after which toppling Manchester United on Boxing Day, earlier than incomes a reputable 2-2 draw with Spurs final Sunday; Jørgen Strand Larsen lashing residence a late equaliser from an acute angle in North London.
Nonetheless, forward of Monday night time’s conflict with Nottingham Forest at Molineux, solely purpose distinction is protecting Wolves out of the underside three, that means supporters are actually nonetheless involved.
After this, the Outdated Gold’s subsequent 5 league opponents are Newcastle, Chelsea, Arsenal, Aston Villa and Liverpool, therefore why Pereira will certainly be desperate to strengthen his squad in January.
Champions League winner might signal for Wolves
Based on experiences from Turkish outlet Sabah Spor, Wolves are in talks with the agent of former Chelsea winger Hakim Ziyech, to signal him.
Presently with Galatasaray, the report means that Ziyech is now not coaching, as he seeks to pressure via a January transfer, having not even been on the bench for the Süper Lig leaders’ final three matches.
Ziyech burst onto the scene throughout his time with Ajax, a key determine as they reached the Champions League semi-finals in 2019, incomes him a £33.6m move to Chelsea, with whom he gained the Champions League, earlier than being solid apart following the change in possession.
The Moroccan then moved to Galatasaray in August 2023 for a fee of around £3m, most notably scoring two free-kicks in the identical recreation because the Turkish giants held Manchester United to a 3-3 draw within the Champions League.
Now, out of favour in İstanbul, starting only three matches up to now this season, Ziyech is prone to be accessible at a discount. One journalist on the continent claims he will move this month “little doubt”, and Wolves seemingly lead the race to land his signature.
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How Hakim Ziyech would enhance Wolves
As Sam Dean of the Telegraph documented, Ziyech earned the nickname “the Wizard of Amsterdam” throughout his time at Ajax, with Goal describing him as “magic”.
Now although, approaching his thirty second birthday, simply how good is Ziyech, and the way does he evaluate to Hwang Hee-chan, the participant he’d certainly be looking for to interchange within the entrance three, alongside Matheus Cunha and Jørgen Strand Larsen?
Ziyech vs Hwang comparability (22/23-24/25) |
||
---|---|---|
Statistic |
Ziyech |
Hwang |
Appearances |
64 |
88 |
Minutes |
3,130 |
4,876 |
Objectives |
10 |
21 |
Assists |
9 |
7 |
Progressive carries |
37 |
70 |
Progressive passes |
71 |
74 |
Shot-creating actions |
57 |
84 |
Passes into the penalty space |
32 |
20 |
Crosses into the penalty space |
12 |
5 |
As outlined within the desk, Hwang and Ziyech are very completely different gamers.
The South Korean is a goal-scoring wide-forward, netting in Wolves’ final two Premier League matches towards Man United after which Tottenham.
In distinction, Ziyech is a creator, accumulating 81 assists during his time at Ajax, in addition to 13 for Chelsea, underlined by his numbers relating to each passes and crosses into the penalty space.
Contemplating Wolves have the fourth-lowest xG figure of any team within the Premier League this season (19.4), a creator-in-chief may very well be simply what Pereira’s staff require this month, underlining why Ziyech may very well be each an opportunistic but in addition an astute version of their battle towards the drop.
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