Bruno Lage has admitted Wolves miss Diogo Jota.
The 2021/22 season was very up-and-down for Wanderers.
The club made an excellent start (after losing the opening three matches 1-0), and seemingly looked good to mount a challenge for European football around February/March time.
But Wolves lost their way as the season drew to a close, and ended up finishing 10th.
One problem Wolves had throughout the campaign was scoring goals and being ruthless in the final third.
The forwards generally left a lot to be desired, and the club finished the Premier League season with a goals for tally of just 38.
Only the three clubs that were relegated – Burnley, Watford and Norwich City – managed fewer.
Lage was recently speaking about new cycles, and the manager suggested that the club miss former forward Jota.
Speaking about reading Sir Alex Ferguson’s book, he said (via Shropshire Star): “The other thing is replacing top players. Maybe Man United don’t lose players because it’s hard for other teams to buy them, but for us it can be easy. One player we miss, like Jota, maybe it can happen with one or two and we need to replace him in the best way.
“Sometimes it’s not just player by player. We can miss one and buy two and we are more balanced as a team.
“We need to do that transition, from one season to another.”
When Jota was sold in the summer of 2020, most fans were generally quite accepting of the deal.
Some felt Jota was a little inconsistent, and so to get £45 million all-in for him was seen as good business.
But arguably, Wolves have lost a bit of cutting edge in the final third and have not really replaced the star, who had a fantastic 2021/22 with Liverpool, scoring 21 goals across all competitions.
Wolves do miss Diogo Jota, and recruitment officials must address that this summer
Since he left, no one has really taken over Jota’s mantle at Molineux.
He would have games where he didn’t make an impact.
But he did score 16 goals and make six assists in his final season with Wanderers, which shows he was generally a source of productivity.
Nuno Espirito Santo was certainly a big fan of his, saying of the player when he left (Sky Sports): “Diogo is amazing and everybody knows the relationship we built. What Diogo did for us is absolutely fantastic.
“I think Diogo is going to the right place and we wish him all the best, knowing that it never be forgotten, especially by our fans, all the memorable moments that Diogo provided.”
Wolves could really do with having a forward who can chip in with goals and assists like he did.
Daniel Podence has the potential to be that player. And Lage recently called on him to improve his numbers.
But maybe Wolves need to go into the transfer market. Players like Rafa Silva or Goncalo Guedes are similar types and could help improve Lage’s side in the final third.