Daily Express journalist Ryan Taylor has cast doubt over Wolves’ reported interest in Michail Antonio.
Last week, TalkSport reporter Alex Crook suggested Julen Lopetegui’s side have their eyes on the forward. Wolves have already brought in Matheus Cunha, Mario Lemina and Pablo Sarabia this month and clearly aren’t stopping there.
Antonio has two Premier League goals and one assist for West Ham United this term, which is far off the totals of the last three league seasons, where he hit the back of the net 10 times in each campaign.
The 32-year-old is an experienced pro, playing 490 games in all competitions for six different clubs including Sheffield Wednesday, Nottingham Forest and Southampton.
Speaking to GiveMeSport, Taylor was surprised to see the Jamaica international linked with a move to Molineux given how the rumours have come about, but could see it being pushed back to the summer.
He stated, “I am a little bit [surprised], it has sort of come out of the blue, but I don’t think Wolves are really looking at a striker anymore.
“I think Sarabia comes into the number 10, Jimenez is back, he obviously scored against Forest in the cup. I think that’s one that could be shelved until the summer.”
TIF Thoughts on Taylor’s comments…
We believe that there are a number of strikers within the Old Gold squad so there wouldn’t be much point in going after the forward. Following Cunha’s arrival, there are multiple options at Lopetegui’s disposal, so another one added in this month alone would surely seem excessive.
Antonio may be experienced and had previous campaigns where he shone at West Ham, but the goals have dried up this season.
Meanwhile, despite Wolves climbing out of the bottom three and sitting two points clear in 16th place, goals have been hard to come by for Lopetegui’s side, as they have the lowest goal tally in the division with 12 scored.
With both Raul Jimenez and Hwang Hee-Chan both failing to score a single league goal this campaign thus far, adding Antonio could arguably result in the same outcome for the Old Gold given his current form.