Nuno Espirito Santo says Wolves are prepared to act quickly in the January transfer window to make up for the “terrible” absence of Raul Jimenez.
Mexico striker Jimenez suffered a fractured skull following his clash of heads with Arsenal defender David Luiz last month and no time frame has been put on the 29-year-old’s return.
Portuguese teenager Fabio Silva scored his first goal following his club-record £35m move from Porto in September, a late penalty in Monday’s 2-1 defeat at Burnley, but Nuno says Wolves are ready to move when the transfer window opens on January 2.
“We are preparing,” Nuno said ahead of Sunday’s home game with Tottenham.
“There is no day that we don’t speak to each other. The manager, the technical staff, Scott (Sellars, general manager football technical), every day.
“Of course we have to rebalance our squad, it’s still a long season ahead of us.”
The loss of Jimenez, who has scored 48 goals in two-and-a-half years at Molineux, was a huge blow for Wolves and the impact on the team was said to be the equivalent of Spurs losing their star striker Harry Kane.
“I will not compare it, but I would say the absence of Raul is very important to us,” Nuno said.
“We feel it and we felt it since the moment it happened. It is a huge blow because it is not only what he does on the pitch, but what he means for the squad.
“The confidence that the players have in him, the belief that until the last minute that he is going to put it inside (the goal).
“I will not compare to other teams, but I will admit that for us his absence is terrible.”
Wolves have lost three of their four games since Jimenez was injured on November 29 to fall into the bottom half of the Premier League.
Sunday 27th December 7:00pm
Kick off 7:15pm
How to follow
Wolves vs Tottenham will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Premier League and Main Event from 7pm on Sunday; kick-off at 7.15pm. Sky Sports customers can watch in-game clips in the live match blog on the Sky Sports website and app. Free highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel shortly after the final whistle.
Watch the Premier League live on Sky Sports
At least 146 Premier League games will be shown live on Sky Sports in the 2020/21 season. The Premier League has further increased the number of televised games this season from 200 to 231, with over half of the extra fixtures set to be shown live on Sky Sports.
Overall, Sky Sports will be showing at least 146 Premier League matches live throughout the 2020/21 season, continuing to bring you all the latest twists, turns and shocks at the home of the Premier League. There will also be two additional midweek programmes – one will be played across the weeks commencing January 11 and 18 and the second will be in the week commencing May 10. All of these games will be broadcast live.
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