Wolverhampton Wanderers will hope that their 2024/25 campaign can be even better than the performances they put in during last season. Ahead of 2023/24, many people thought the Midlands side could face the drop, including BBC Sport’s chief football writer Phil McNulty. He explained he had a ‘very, very worrying feeling’ about them last term.
However, they defied McNulty and many other people’s expectations and managed to finish 14th in the Premier League, ending up with 46 points, which saw them finish an impressive 20 points clear of Luton Town who occupied the final spot in the relegation zone.
However, they did slightly overachieve on their expected points tally, according to Understat. The midlands side were expected to get just 39.79xPTS, which would have seen them finish 17th according to the expected points table, although they would still have finished a comfortable six points clear of the danger zone.
As they look to push further up the table in the 2024/25 season, Wolves will no doubt need to strengthen their side and add quality depth to their squad. They have already made some moves in the transfer window, but have been linked with another player who could finally replace a club cult hero.
Wolves' search for a striker
The player in question here is Middlesbrough and Ivorian centre-forward, Emmanuel Latte Lath. The 25-year-old impressed in his only season in England so far, and has now been linked with a move away from the Riverside Stadium during the transfer window.
As reported by Italian news outlet Tutto Mercato earlier this week, Wolves are one of the clubs who are thought to be interested in signing Latte Lath this summer. The 25-year-old has been subject to interest from the Midlands side, with the reports suggesting there have been ‘various surveys’ done on the player and his availability.
However, they are not alone in the hunt for the Ivorian international this summer. Austrian outfit RB Salzburg is one potential destination, as is German side Stuttgart. However, it is Ligue 1 side AS Monaco who are leading the race to acquire the services of Latte Lath this summer.
In terms of a price, it is thought that Boro could charge over £8.5m for the 25-year-old Ivorian after he impressed last season. That would see the North Eastern outfit make a small profit after they paid a fee of around £5.1m to Atalanta.
Why Latte Lath would be a good signing
It was certainly an impressive season for Latte Lath in the Championship last term. During his first season in England, the Cote d’Ivoire international played 30 Championship games and got himself on the score sheet an impressive 16 times.
Should he make the move to Molineux this summer, he could finally prove to be a replacement for Wolves legend Raul Jimenez. The Mexican was superb for the Midlands club during his time there before a terrible head injury led to a long time out with injury.
He departed the club for West London and Fulham last season, but he had an exemplary record for Wolves and left as their leading goalscorer in the Premier League, with 40 goals in total.
Season
Games
Goals
Assists
2018/19
38
13
7
2019/20
38
17
6
2020/21
10
4
0
2021/22
34
6
4
2022/23
15
0
1
Indeed, Latte Lath has shown such goalscoring pedigree already, having scored more goals than any other Boro player last season. In fact, the 25-year-old centre-forward was one of only two players to reach double figures in the second tier of English football, with Finn Azaz the other, scoring 11 times, as per SofaScore.
It would certainly be interesting to see how Wolves would utilise Latte Lath with Jorgen Strand Larsen. The 24-year-old Norweigan international signed for the club on loan which could become permanent at the end of the season.
Of course, having squad depth is important, although Gary O’Neil could well prefer to play one striker, as he did at times last season. Therefore, it would be a straight shootout between the 25-year-old and new acquisition Larsen, although given Latte Lath’s form in the Championship last season, he could well get the nod. Football analyst HC described the Ivorian as "the real deal", and this certainly shows based on his performances last season.
Regardless, for a deal of around £8.5m this summer, it could be an ideal option for the Molineux side, as they look to add depth up front and finally replace one of their all-time great players, Jimenez.
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