Jiminez

[LosgallardosWolf]

Apologies if it's been mentioned elsewhere but rumours are we are prepared to sell for as " little" as 15 million. Thoughts?

 

[Minimalist]

Has been mentioned on the transfer thread.
Lots of factors to take into account that we’re not privy to.
Like his own wishes, what his fitness status is, what type of qualities Bruno wants from his striker.

I desperately want to see Jimenez have a great season for us next season, being the main man and scoring goals with a big smile on his face.

However I can understand at his age we would probably be reluctant to offer a contract extension at this point, so with two years left on his deal I can imagine recouping half of what we paid for him would be deemed fair business.

 

[WolfLing]

However I can understand at his age we would probably be reluctant to offer a contract extension at this point, so with two years left on his deal I can imagine recouping half of what we paid for him would be deemed fair business.

This'll be it. Does a 31 year old striker, in poor form, who may not even be first choice next season, deserve to be one of our best paid players?

Or do you choose to move him on for a decent fee while you still can?

A lot will probably depend on who else moves on and if there's people in for him. But he's certainly gone from an 'untouchable' to a 'could be sold'.

 

[WolfLing]

Apologies if it's been mentioned elsewhere but rumours are we are prepared to sell for as " little" as 15 million. Thoughts?

Jimenez

 

[Jawwfc]

Im really on the fence with him, by far the best striker i have ever seen play for us, Prior to his injury I'd have said only Kane,Aguero, Vardy and Aubameyang were better out and out strikers in the league (not include the winger/forward types).

Since that horrific injury he has looked a shadow of his former self, he was unplayable two years ago, that goal against Liverpool was something else

I think maybe a move to the MLS may becon a team like Inter Miami maybe to increase their Mexican following whilst Raul can still earn a good wage and be closer to his family.

Personally I'd just like to see the Raul of two years ago back.... I can't see it happening he looks a shadow of his former self, the frustration whenever he's subbed shows how difficult it must be for him and ultimately the most important thing for him was to be able to lead a normal life again which thankfully he has, Luiz wrecked his career.

 

[oldgoldheart]

He needs replacing. We have a big summer ahead. Jimenez has been great but he is not the player he was often enough. Looks like many others are leaving too. I will always have fond memories of raul

 

[waveney wolf]

Sadly with his goals record this year, and medical record, we ll do well to get 2 million

 

[SuperGran]

Apologies if it's been mentioned elsewhere but rumours are we are prepared to sell for as " little" as 15 million. Thoughts?

With his age and lack of form 15m is decent I’d be surprised if any one would pay that tho

 

[Shergar]

Jimenez

100%

what is so difficult about spelling Jimenez? It’s almost as difficult as Molinuex.

 

[Zico]

If someone offers £15m then I think we have to take it.

 

[Minimalist]

who may not even be first choice next season,

I think this is a major thing to take into account. I really don’t think players who have had such high standing should then be expected to play second fiddle, same applies when people talk of having Saiss or Moutinho as “squad” players. It could be very bad for team spirit.
I’m not saying they can’t be rotated a bit and occasionally rested/subbed.
But if we spent big on a quality centre forward we wanted to play the majority of the time I’m not sure making someone like Jimenez sit on the bench only getting cup games and the odd ten minutes here and there would be conducive to a harmonious dressing room.

 

[beppe7619]

We can’t sit and wait we need players who can get goals from strikers midfield and wingers

 

[WolfLing]

I think this is a major thing to take into account. I really don’t think players who have had such high standing should then be expected to play second fiddle, same applies when people talk of having Saiss or Moutinho as “squad” players. It could be very bad for team spirit.
I’m not saying they can’t be rotated a bit and occasionally rested/subbed.
But if we spent big on a quality centre forward we wanted to play the majority of the time I’m not sure making someone like Jimenez sit on the bench only getting cup games and the odd ten minutes here and there would be conducive to a harmonious dressing room.

Yeah, agreed.

Moutinho is the only real one who I think would be OK with a reduced role, given his age.

 

[Redrockwanderer]

Apologies if it's been mentioned elsewhere but rumours are we are prepared to sell for as " little" as 15 million. Thoughts?

The source is teamtalk… so not truth currently in it. If Romano or Percy run it, then it’s true.

He needs another year here and will push on…

 

[Bugsy911]

Doesn't look anywhere near good enough for this level now , which is sad to see after what happened to him he is lucky to be alive !!

Best if he still wants to play still to move to a lesser league rather than than where he is with us now and nobody should begrudge him that.

 

[DasWolf]

He needs another year here and will push on…

People have said this the entire season.

"Raul just needs to get back to match fitness"

"Raul just needs a run of games in the first team"

"Raul just needs more time, he'll definitely be back to exactly how he was"

"Raul just needs another season"


He's not been the same since that awful injury, other than a couple of glimpses. I don't blame him for that, and there's zero shame in it. It's not a slight on him, or his efforts. He's done amazingly well to recover as well as he has from an injury that could easily have killed him, and has caused other players to retire.

I do wonder at what point people accept the truth of the matter, or are we going to have threads in 2 years time about how Raul "just needs another 3 seasons and he'll be back"?

 

[Big Saft Kid]

If he goes we won't be buying a new striker -- not, that is, unless we sell Jeff Shi's Wunderkind (not) who we spunked 35million on first.

 

[WolfLing]

We have a solid base to build from and we have a good crop of youngsters as backup and for the future.

The reality is it is the first team that has not functioned consistently well for some time.

The spine of that team is Coady, Neves, Moutinho and Jimenez.

We could theoretically have a full spine transplant this summer!

 

[Mugwump]

I think getting his wage off the books is a good move, but i do feel he still may have a part to play. We just cant have him as our number 1 striker right now.

 

[freezin]

Would I be happy if we paid £15m for Raul off the back of this season at a different club?

No, absolutely not.

If we could recoup £45m for Raul, Silva and Hwang I'd be delighted.

 

[Peszkywolf]

Don't think he'd be content coming off the bench. And just hasn't been the same this season, understandably, feel sorry for him.....
But we do need to score more, desperately.

 

[Black Country Wanderer]

Actually think hes been much better last couple of games
Agree hes nowhere near the player he was,but if he keeps improving over the close season he will still be a handful next year
Neto back to full fitness will help him plus any new blood we get in
If an offer worth taking comes in then fair enough but personally i would keep him for another year at least

 

[Manic88]

People have said this the entire season.

"Raul just needs to get back to match fitness"

"Raul just needs a run of games in the first team"

"Raul just needs more time, he'll definitely be back to exactly how he was"

"Raul just needs another season"


He's not been the same since that awful injury, other than a couple of glimpses. I don't blame him for that, and there's zero shame in it. It's not a slight on him, or his efforts. He's done amazingly well to recover as well as he has from an injury that could easily have killed him, and has caused other players to retire.

I do wonder at what point people accept the truth of the matter, or are we going to have threads in 2 years time about how Raul "just needs another 3 seasons and he'll be back"?

Will Raul get back to himself before MGW makes the leap to prem standard? Or will Denis Rosa make 10 league starts first?

 

[Peszkywolf]

Will Raul get back to himself before MGW makes the leap to prem standard? Or will Denis Rosa make 10 league starts first?

Who's Rosa? U21s striker? How good and promising is he?

 

[Ewok vs Wolf]

Who's Rosa? U21s striker? How good and promising is he?

Hungarian International. Top talent.

 

[Rhyl Wolf]

If he goes we won't be buying a new striker -- not, that is, unless we sell Jeff Shi's Wunderkind (not) who we spunked 35million on first.

Thought it was fairly common knowledge, Wolves in the market for target man?!

 

[Sussex Wolf]

If he goes we won't be buying a new striker -- not, that is, unless we sell Jeff Shi's Wunderkind (not) who we spunked 35million on first.

Think the bigger issue is getting the likes of Bonatini and Cutrone off the books. They both still have 12 months remaining on their contracts so you’d think it’s time to take whatever we can get.

 

[Sedgers]

Said it before but I'll say again he hasn't been the same player since we sold Jota. It wouldn't suprise me in the slightest to see him banging in the goals for another team if he was paired with another quality goal scorer.

 

[Alex Rae The Substitute]

Think the bigger issue is getting the likes of Bonatini and Cutrone off the books. They both still have 12 months remaining on their contracts so you’d think it’s time to take whatever we can get.

Both probably on £30k PW each too, so would free up a lot of cash towards a top striker.

 

[Alex Rae The Substitute]

Said it before but I'll say again he hasn't been the same player since we sold Jota. It wouldn't suprise me in the slightest to see him banging in the goals for another team if he was paired with another quality goal scorer.

Shhhhh, Jota was crap, Traore was crap, and neither of them ever formed a good partnership with Raul that saw us playing some of our most exciting football for decades.

 

[Jawwfc]

Both probably on £30k PW each too, so would free up a lot of cash towards a top striker.

I would imagine Cutrone might be on more than that, he's actually a signing I can understand the club making at the time, a top young talent in Italy, a decentish goal record when he was 18/19, from a big club, a full international however his whole career has just gone off the rails,

I expect in a few years time he will feature in one of those YouTube videos detailing where wonderkids of the past have ended up.

 

[Wolf in Kenilworth]

We buy BEFORE we sell.
That was we aren’t over a barrel.

We would‘by be short of offers for most of our squad.

Alas we’ll bring the money in before it goes out I think and probably lay extra for it with clubs knowing we have money to spend.

 

[I'm the Wanderer]

We can’t sit and wait we need players who can get goals from strikers midfield and wingers

Yes, we can. We're waiting for the generational talent to show that he's a generational talent.

 

[Mile End Wanderer]

Sell him and buy 2 more strikers that actually want to get into the box.

Raul has been dropping too deep he looks lost in the Lage set up

 

[Fenrir_]

Said it before but I'll say again he hasn't been the same player since we sold Jota. It wouldn't suprise me in the slightest to see him banging in the goals for another team if he was paired with another quality goal scorer.

Impossible to say Jota was a reason. Raúl only played eight and a bit games after we sold Jota before his injury and scored three goals, plus his goal in the first game when Jota wasn't on the pitch, so he was doing alright without Jota. What he does do well though as you allude to (and he did this excellently with Jota, particularly first season) is work well in tandem with someone, even looked like he might strike up a decent partnership with Hwang earlier in the season

I think he still has it, but needs players working closer to him and for the most part this season he's been horribly isolated. Totally agree that he could go somewhere and look like the player we had

 

[jrpb-3]

People have said this the entire season.

"Raul just needs to get back to match fitness"

"Raul just needs a run of games in the first team"

"Raul just needs more time, he'll definitely be back to exactly how he was"

"Raul just needs another season"


He's not been the same since that awful injury, other than a couple of glimpses. I don't blame him for that, and there's zero shame in it. It's not a slight on him, or his efforts. He's done amazingly well to recover as well as he has from an injury that could easily have killed him, and has caused other players to retire.

I do wonder at what point people accept the truth of the matter, or are we going to have threads in 2 years time about how Raul "just needs another 3 seasons and he'll be back"?

still top scorer with 6 and joint top on assists

not a good return no, and no he's been poor for a lot of the season, but fact he's still top scorer also shows lack of goals and chances etc. also are also down to issues elsewhere in the team as well. At the moment he plays too deep too much of the time as he's not getting the service to him in the box. I'm sure in an attacking team with decent service he'd still score.


Will he get back to his pre injury form ? still unknown, so do need to look at whether now would be a good time for him to move on or not, of course depends on getting in a decent replacement which won't be cheap

 

[JayStringer]

My honest feeling is that Raul will be much better next season. I think as fans we are often guilty of under-estimating the impact of trauma on players. We under-estimated it last season when the team were playing on with the memory of almost seeing a friend die on the pitch. Raul has been playing this season through the issue of almost having died on the pitch. This isn't a hamstring injury, it's not even an ACL, it's not just a physical thing to shrug off. It's a life-changing moment. So personally, I think after a year of venting frustration, we'll see a much improved Raul next season.

That said, the club is a business, and Fosun can't run it based on my own personal gut feeling. They need to make some harsh decisions to try and guarantee goals. And, of course, Raul's own feelings need to be taken into account and maybe HE feels ready to move.

So I can understand if he's moved on, and he goes as one of the best players we've had in my lifetime.

 

[Wonder Boyo]

He actually has shown glimpses of his previous abilities this season (Southampton away goal and West Ham home goal were brilliant pieces of play and finishes) so it may still be in there somewhere. He also has shown some improvement over the last few games. I am inclined to show some faith in him and give him another season to prove himself. I'd hate to see him go to another side and watch him bang in the goals that the old Raul was capable of.

 

[bod101]

i'd have him playing behind a striker, he has the ability to in my mind.

 

[Hoganstolemywife]

i'd have him playing behind a striker, he has the ability to in my mind.

I would too. Think he's perfect there