Transfer What-If: Wolves’ Regret as EFL Sensation Could Have Taken Cunha to Uncharted Heights
Wolves missed out on signing a youngster thriving in the second tier
Wolverhampton Wanderers secured a Premier League double over Chelsea with a 4-2 win at Stamford Bridge yesterday, and it looks as though Gary O’Neil’s decision not to sign anyone on deadline day could pay off.
They were linked with a midfield talent who is thriving for Birmingham City in the Championship this season during the January transfer window. Could they rue not making a move?
During the dying embers of the transfer window, Wolves were interested in signing Jordan James as they looked to bolster their ranks.
Birmingham wanted a fee of around £10m for the youngster and ultimately, no deal went through before deadline day.
The 19-year-old would have been a shrewd acquisition, especially with his future potential and the fact he may have been an upgrade on Boubacar Traore.
This season, James has scored six goals in 27 games while creating one big chance and averaging 0.4 key passes per game, suggesting that he poses a decent threat from the heart of the midfield.
In comparison, Traore has failed to find the back of the net, and he has yet to create a big chance either, along with averaging 0.3 key passes, and it is clear who is the bigger attacking threat out of the two.
Defensively, James has also won more total duels per game (3.4 vs 1.8), made more tackles per game (1.3 vs 1.1) and more interceptions per game (0.7 vs 0.3), clearly indicating that the young Welshman would have been an upgrade on the 22-year-old Molineux star.
With Matheus Cunha netting a hat-trick against Chelsea on the weekend, James certainly has the attacking qualities that could have taken the Brazilian striker to new levels between now and May.
It’s safe to say that Cunha has arguably been one of Wolves’ most impressive players this season.
In 27 matches across all competitions, the former Atlético Madrid forward has netted 11 goals while grabbing seven assists and if he keeps up his current strike rate, he could break through the 20-goal barrier.
Having someone like James operating behind him could only benefit Cunha in the long term, especially with his penchant for bursting forward from the middle of the pitch, evidenced by his six goals in the league this season.
Hailed as a “hungry” talent by his former boss at Birmingham, Lee Bowyer, James currently ranks in the top 30% when compared to positional peers in the men’s next 14 competitions for progressive carries (1.57) and successful take-ons (1.06) per 90.
While these stats may not seem out of this world, it clearly demonstrates his ability to get forward at all times and as he ages and matures, there is no doubt these statistics will improve drastically.
James could be another excellent talent to emerge from Birmingham and O’Neil certainly made a major transfer blunder last month by failing to add him to the Old Gold squad.