Julen Lopetegui backs misfiring Wolves strikers to end Premier League goal drought
Raul Jimenez was the last striker to net in the league for Wolves in March 2022
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Your support makes all the difference.Julen Lopetegui has backed Wolves’ strikers to end their year-long goal drought.
No striker has netted for the club in the Premier League since Raul Jimenez struck in a 4-0 win over Watford on March 10, 2022.
On-loan January arrival Matheus Cunha, who will become Wolves’ £43million record signing at the end of the season, is yet to get off the mark along with Diego Costa, while Jimenez has only scored in the Carabao Cup this season.
Wolves go to Newcastle on Sunday five points above the relegation zone, with Lopetegui confident his hitmen will rediscover their touch.
He said: “I’m worried about the team, always, not just about the forwards. Scoring is about all of the team. I think we are happy with the commitment of the forwards.
“They are working very hard. Sometimes they offer a different solution to the team. I’m sure they are going to score, I don’t know when but as soon as possible is good for them and us.
“They have to do a lot of things for the team and they are working very hard.”
To add to Wolves’ striker issues, Costa is expected to be out for up to a month after coming off in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Tottenham with a knee problem, with Hwang Hee-Chan and Boubacar Traore also nursing injuries ahead of the trip to St James’ Park.
Lopetegui added: “We are going to play against one of the strongest teams in the Premier League. I love to see them, one of the best in the Premier League, they are ready to fight for the Champions League.
“We are going to go there with ambition and thinking we are able to compete with them. That’s why we are going to play a hard match but also an exciting one.”
Lopetegui, his coaches and the squad also had lunch with club staff at Molineux on Wednesday to celebrate Saturday’s clean sheet against Spurs, while he also arrived at his press conference with pizza for the media.
“We are going to improve – today is pizza and next week serrano,” he joked.
“The club is not only the players, it’s about all the workers. They work very hard for us. It’s a good feeling.”
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