Agbonlahor backs PL striker to shine after his ‘outstanding’ first 21/22 goal

Former Aston Villa forward Gabriel Agbonlahor has backed Wolves star Raul Jimenez to shine after his “outstanding” first goal of the season against Southampton.

Jimenez signed Wolves in 2018 from Benfica. He initially joined them on loan before they paid around £30m to sign him permanently.

The forward has netted 32 times from his 72 appearances for the Premier League outfit.

Jimenez is back but Wolves still have an asterisk

The 30-year-old’s career was thrown into doubt last summer as he suffered a fractured skull. This came from a head collision with ex-Arsenal star David Luiz.

Jimenez has returned to action and he scored his first goal of the season in superb fashion against Southampton over the weekend. 

Agbonlahor has told Football Insider that Jimenez is “so strong” when he is in form:

“He hasn’t looked himself all season which is going to happen with the unfortunate injury that he had,” Agbonlahor said.

“He’s just getting used to playing football again.

“He looked very good against Southampton. His goal was outstanding. That was the Raul Jimenez that everyone was obsessed with, the player everyone had in their fantasy football teams, the player that everyone loved watching.

“When he’s in that form, he’s so strong, he’s so quick. What a hell of a finish to chop back and calmly putting it away.

“Now, I think we’re going to see the Raul Jimenez first come to Wolves. Defences are in trouble, definitely.”

Earlier this week, Conor Coady claimed that Jimenez is “one of the best strikers in the world”:

“I’m just so, so proud of what he’s gone through, what he’s done, how he’s got through it, the character he’s shown, the bravery, the courage, and his goal was the same old Raul. It’s something we became accustomed to before he got injured,” Coady said.

“The injury hit everybody hard, so to see him score again is absolutely incredible and he really deserves it. He works so, so hard in training every week, he’s been working on his finishing since he’s been back, and what a goal it was.

“There was no question marks from our behalf. We believe in him no matter what, he’s one of the best strikers in the world in our eyes, we’re so lucky to have him at this football club.

“We saw how he went about it, a tap in, anything he would have got would have been massive for us, but to score a goal like that shows his quality.

“I’ve never once looked at him and thought he wasn’t the same Raul. He goes into training every day and gives 100 percent. He gives the best of himself every day, like everybody does in our dressing room. He’s an absolute pleasure to work with and we’re lucky to have him.”