Wolverhampton Wanderers’ goalscoring woes that held them back last year have yet again reared their head during the first seven Premier League matches of this campaign.
Having scored only 38 league goals in 2021/2022, the Old Gold have managed a paltry three efforts so far and this is despite having signed Goncalo Guedes and Sasa Kalajdzic (although he will miss most of the campaign having been injured on his debut).
This prompted Bruno Lage to delve back into the market, with the club announcing the signing of Diego Costa to provide cover for the injured Austrian last week. The 33-year-old might not be in his prime, but it was certainly a better option than another face who was looked at by the club.
Lage avoided a howler
Wolves were linked with a shock move for Andy Carroll before Costa joined, and this would have been a disaster, as he could well have potentially been a worse signing than that of Willian Jose two years ago.
The Brazilian centre-forward joined on loan from Real Sociedad in January 2021 until the end of the season, but the move turned out to be a nightmare for both parties.
In the end, he managed a solitary Premier League goal in 18 appearances in all competitions, with Wolves unsurprisingly not exercising their option to buy.
Did Wolves dodge a bullet over Andy Carroll?
Yes
No
Carroll, who is of similar stature, would likely have had an impact comparable to that of Jose, with the 33-year-old scoring a total of just six goals in the previous four years. Indeed, it is evident that both players are not exactly prolific inside the opposition area.
The Englishman’s career hasn’t exactly taken off since he made a £35m move from Newcastle United to Liverpool in 2011 and overall, has scored just 54 top flight goals in 248 matches, hardly setting the world on fire.
His injury record was also a major cause for concern, thus rendering him worse than Jose who was, at least, available during his time at Molineux. The former England international has had 23 separate incidents throughout his career where he was injured and Lage certainly dodged a bullet over the former West Ham hitman.
Karen Brady once dubbed Carroll as a “behemoth from ages past” due to his poor attitude during his stint in the capital, and this is another reason why he was best to be avoided.
The jury is out on Costa, but one thing is for certain, he will be a far better option to call upon than Carroll.
