Wolverhampton Wanderers were able to avoid relegation to the Championship in the 2022/23 campaign as they finished 14th in the Premier League.
Julen Lopetgui guided the side to survival as they ended the season seven points clear of 18th-placed Leicester City and the Spanish head coach now has his first summer transfer window in charge of the club to add to his squad.
Goalscoring was a major issue for them in the top flight as they only found the back of the net 31 times in 38 matches, which was the worst record in the entire division – including all three of the relegated teams.
Wolves have confirmed that Spanish striker Diego Costa will be leaving Molineux upon the expiry of his contract at the end of this month and Lopetegui could land a big upgrade on the former Chelsea man by swooping for reported target Chuba Akpom from Middlesbrough, who could cost around £20m.
Would Chuba Akpom be a success at Wolves?
The Arsenal academy graduate could be a huge success for the Old Gold as the forward enjoyed a "remarkable" – as described by journalist Oluwashina Okeleji – season in front of goal for Michael Carrick's side in the Championship.
Akpom plundered an eye-catching 28 goals in 38 appearances in the second tier in 2022/23 and proved his finishing quality by doing that from 21.9 xG, showing that the attacker outperformed the quality of chances that his teammates provided him with.
The Englishman ranks in the top 1% of players in his positions in the Men's Next Eight Competitions over the last 365 days for non-penalty goals (0.70) and non-penalty xG (0.50) per 90), meaning that he is one of the best goalscorers around at that level.
Meanwhile, Costa found the back of the net just once in 23 Premier League matches for Wolves, despite racking up 3.2 xG. This shows that the Spanish dud underperformed in front of goal and should have scored more than once, marking a poor return from the former Atletico Madrid star.
To rubber stamp that underperformance, he ranks in the bottom 3% of players in his position in Europe's top five leagues for non-penalty goals per 90 (0.07) over the last 365 days.
This suggests that it would not take much to bring in a significant upgrade on the veteran forward and Akpom could be exactly that based on the marksman's exceptional performances for Boro in the Championship.
There is no guarantee that he will be able to translate that form over to the top-flight but it will take some going for him to offer less in the final third than Costa. Therefore, the 27-year-old could improve Lopetegui's side tenfold next season and solve their goalscoring woes.
