There was certainly a lot of sadness when Raul Jimenez left Wolves in 2023.
The Mexican striker had been a revelation for Wanderers and at one point had established himself as one of the most feared centre-forwards in the Premier League.
Raul Jimenez wowed almost immediately at Wolves, and finished his first season in English football with 13 Premier League goals to his name and a further four in the FA Cup.
Jimenez had been on loan from Benfica, but turned his move to Molineux permanent after one year, for around £30 million.
The star was such a big hit.
Not only could he score goals, Jimenez was also a creator and linked up so well with the likes of Diogo Jota and Pedro Neto, and then later Daniel Podence and Hwang Hee-chan.
Then came that horrific head injury against Arsenal in November 2020, which would alter the path of his career and life.
He was never the same player after that, and in 2023 he left Wolves and joined Fulham.
It’s actually been a decent stint for him there, and at the weekend he did something that will surely please many Wolves fans.
Raul Jimenez moves into Fulham’s top 10 Premier League scorers list
When Jimenez left Wolves for £5 million, no one really expected too much from him.
He had struggled after returning from his injury, and it did look as though he would never be that same player he was before the injury.
That has remained the case, but Jimenez has certainly done a lot better at Fulham than expected.
Earlier this season, Jimenez became the all-time leading Mexican scorer in the Premier League, scoring his 54th goal in the competition via the penalty spot against Ipswich Town.
Jimenez was on target for Fulham at the weekend in their 3-1 defeat against Everton, and his latest goal – a brilliant header – was significant.
The 34-year-old has impressively now moved into their top 10 list of Premier League goalscorers. This, on top of being Wolves’ all-time leading goalscorer in the Premier League with 40 strikes.
| Fulham’s top goalscorers in the Premier League |
| 1. Clint Dempsey – 50 |
| 2. Brian McBride – 32 |
| 3. Steed Malbranque – 32 |
| 4. Aleksandar Mitrovic – 28 |
| 5. Louis Saha – 26 |
| 6. Luis Boa Morte – 26 |
| 7. Collin John – 20 |
| 8. Bobby Zamora – 20 |
| 9. Dimitar Berbatov – 19 |
| 10. Raul Jimenez – 18 |
He now has 18 for the Cottagers in the Premier League, moving clear of both Danny Murphy and Rodrigo Muniz.
It was his 10th in the league so far this season.
Given his exploits this season, Fulham will surely take up their option to extend his contract by a further 12 months, with it currently set to expire in the summer.
Jimenez’s post-injury success is brilliant to see
Fans will never forget Jimenez laying on the turf that night at the Emirates Stadium after the collision with David Luiz.
Jeff Shi said Jimenez’s injury was one of the most shocking moments of his tenure as chairman at Wolves, and it was truly awful to see him in that state.
Jimenez remains very loved at Molineux, given how good a player he was for Wolves and all the brilliant memories he provided fans with.
He may now be playing for a Premier League rival, but fans will not begrudge him any success that comes his way.
To have moved into 10th place on Fulham’s all-time Premier League goalscorers list is a great achievement, and probably not one many expected him to make.