It’s safe to say that Jackson Tchatchoua has fallen short of the level everyone expected him to show at Wolves – and Andy Thompson has urged him to change his approach.
It’s been a dismal season for Wolves and one that will end in relegation.
A big reason behind the season of struggle has proven to be recruitment, with the quality of Wolves’ squad simply not up to par.
Jackson Tchatchoua was one of six new arrivals last summer.
While there have been flashes of quality, the Cameroon international has struggled and regularly drawn criticism.
And there’s been one criticism of his game that has been particularly common.
And Andy Thompson shares the feeling of many about the wing-back.
Andy Thompson highlights the issue Wolves fans have been seeing with Jackson Tchatchoua
Thompson has called for the wing-back to be taking on his man more, which reflects a frustration that has been building for many all season.
He said (via Matchday Live Extra): “I just think we have to use our strikers or our wide men. Positive, Hugo Bueno down the left, we know he’s going to drive forward.
“We’ve seen glimpses of Tchatchoua, but not enough for me.
“I think that when he’s one-vs-one, he should be like a winger, getting at the full-back. The ones that he did, he either got a corner, a free-kick or we had an opportunity at goal.
“But he’s still reluctant to be going forward as much as we want him to. I think he’ll look a better player if he does it, for me. And give more to the team when he’s doing that.”
The criticism is not new, it has simply now been voiced publicly by a former player who understands the demands of the role. Tchatchoua’s reluctance to attack defenders consistently has been a visible issue in Wolves games.
Thompson’s assessment cuts straight to the core of the problem, Tchatchoua is not using his biggest strength often enough. That point becomes even more striking when considering he is officially the fastest player in the Premier League this season.
Tchatchoua was poor recruitment by Wolves
Tchatchoua arrived for £10 million, but the return so far has been very limited.
He has produced zero goals and two assists, which is poor for a wing-back expected to contribute in the final third.
When a player with remarkable physical attributes such as him is not delivering output, the focus naturally shifts to how he is being used and how he is performing within that role. In this case, the issue appears to be a combination of hesitation and decision-making.
It is a travesty, because he could genuinely be so dangerous.
That he’s still having this issue suggests that it’s not something he can change, and that brings Wolves’ recruitment of the player firmly into focus.
Tchatchoua actually wasn’t Wolves’ first choice for the right-back position last summer.
Of course, Marc Pubill was who Wolves really wanted, before he snubbed the Old Gold to join Atletico Madrid.
It was as though Wolves just panicked, got Tchatchoua in having seen how quick he was, but failed to spot other flaws in his game.
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