BBC pundit says Wolves star looks tired after European exploits

BBC pundit Garth Crooks has said that Raul Jimenez looked a tired player during the recent Premier League clash against Chelsea. The west Midlands outfit went winless for the fifth game on the bounce at the weekend after they suffered a 5-2 thrashing at the hands of the Blues.

Speaking after the game, Crooks pointed out that Jimenez did not have the best of performances and that may have resulted from the Mexican regularly leading the line for the club. He added that Wolves have not been helped with the progression to the Europa League group stage and they are better off ditching the competition to focus on the Premier League, he told: “As for Wolves’ Raul Jimenez, it’s hardly surprising their centre-forward looked dead on his feet – he only returned from Mexico City on Thursday morning and expects to bother Chelsea 48 hours later? Wolves can’t handle Europe and international breaks. Ditch Europe.”

Wolves did not make significant changes to the squad during the summer and that was quite predictable, considering the existing players were influential towards the seventh-place finish and Europa League qualification. Nuno’s men have since reached the group stage of the Europa League after beating three teams along the way and they are unlikely to give up on the knockouts without giving a fight.

As a result, they need to find a different way of coping with the demands of playing in both the Premier League and Europa League, considering they can’t make any changes until the turn of the year. Wolves are winless after the opening five games of the league season and they recently suffered a 1-0 loss to Braga during the Europa League opener. Wolves are scheduled to face Crystal Palace on the road this weekend and it remains to be seen whether they can secure their maiden league triumph of the campaign.