Jackson Tchatchoua is one of several new players at Wolves who have not really hit the ground running.
There were real frustrations for Wolves this summer over the right-back position, which all stemmed from Nelson Semedo not wanting to sign a contract extension.
There was radio silence for weeks, although some at behind the scenes Wolves always felt Semedo was unlikely to sign a new deal.
So the club made plans to sign a replacement, despite not getting word from Semedo that he was definitely leaving.
After missing out on Marc Pubill, Semedo then did finally announce that he wouldn’t be returning to Wolves, which meant the club had to ramp up their efforts for a successor.
In the end, Jackson Tchatchoua was that man – and it has been a strange start for the Cameroon international.
Jackson Tchatchoua should be far more dangerous than he is for Wolves
When Tchatchoua signed, Wolves were keen to point out that Tchatchoua was a very quick player.
He had been clocked as the fastest player in Serie A last season, and just weeks into 2025/26, Tchatchoua then became the fastest player in the Premier League with a sprint he recorded against Everton.
There were some positive signs early doors with Tchatchoua, who provided an assist on his Molineux debut in the Carabao Cup against West Ham United.
But Tchatchoua has not really kicked on in the way everyone hoped.
He’s been a bit in and out of the team which probably hasn’t helped, with Vitor Pereira not fancying Tchatchoua at times. But when he does play, one can’t help but feel a bit underwhelmed at the moment.
This is a player who has the potential to be so dangerous with that incredible pace and power.
And yet, often, Tchatchoua seems reluctant to actually use that pace to wreak havoc.
They don’t come much quicker than Jackson Tchatchoua
The 24-year-old has sometimes seemed hesitant and conservative on the ball, and Wolves cannot afford for him to be like that amid the ongoing creativity issue.
He has created just five chances so far across his 11 Premier League appearances which is poor for a player expected to be an outlet for his team. For context, Hugo Bueno has created 13 (via Stat Muse).
This term, he has a SCA per 90 (shot creating actions per 90 metric of just 1.03 – which is the lowest of all Wolves full-backs (via fbref).
Against Crystal Palace at the weekend, Tchatchoua looked as though he wanted to get rid of the ball as soon as he got it, rather than be direct and look to cause problems, and Rob Edwards will surely want this to change.
Tchatchoua’s rivals are waiting in the wings
Rob Edwards needs more from Tchatchoua.
He is blessed with remarkably physical attributes and so far this term we haven’t seen him use them nearly enough.
He’s started the last two Premier League games for Wolves and he may well get another opportunity against Aston Villa at the weekend.
But he’s got to improve, with Ki-Jana Hoever hoping for his chance under the new manager and Matt Doherty is also still an option to play out wide.