Wolves narrowly avoided £15m disaster with Oliver McBurnie | OneFootball

Wolves‘ woes in front of goal have continued on from Nuno Santo’s reign, as just five teams in the Premier League have failed to score more than Bruno Lage’s side, with Leeds as far down as 16th having put the ball in the back of the net more times this campaign.

Strikers Raul Jimenez and Hwang-Hee Chan have netted a disappointing total of 11 goals between them, while £36m signing Fabio Silva has managed just one goal all season – which came for the U23s team in the Premier League 2.

They could have wasted even more money last summer though, as they targeted Sheffield United striker Oliver McBurnie in a potential £15m deal, according to The Sun.

Would McBurnie have been a success at Wolves?

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The Telegraph also reported on transfer deadline day back in August that the club attempted to complete a deal near the closure of the window, but they had just run out of time – which perhaps was a blessing in disguise.

Having made just six starts in the Championship and appearing a further 19 times from the bench, he has failed to score all campaign and has set up just two goals, in what has been a very unsuccessful season for the £6.3m-rated Scotland international.

With that in mind, it’s hardly a surprise that pundit Tam McManus described the attacker as “desperate” for his efforts in the final third.

After having a number of run-ins with the law in recent years, he has also become somewhat of a controversial figure in football, and fans and pundits have regularly criticised his attitude on and off the pitch.

Former Blades striker Carl Asaba is just one of the people who have leapt to his defence recently though, saying in an interview with The Star: “I watch McBurnie arrive at the ground, he’s smiling and happy, he warms up not looking like a man who is tense, or desperate to find a goal as I used to.

“He’s happy and jokey when a substitute and wishes his team mates good luck before kick off.

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“He gets onto the pitch and he retains possession, ambles into the box when I’m screaming from commentary box that he needs to break his neck to get across the near post or that he should have taken a shot as you don’t shoot you don’t score.”

With that being said, McBurnie clearly wasn’t the answer for Wolves if he is struggling for goals in the Championship – and the West Midlands club don’t need another forward to ‘retain possession’ or be ‘happy and jokey’ with teammates.

Instead, they need a proven goal-getter who can fire them into European qualification, and the 17-time Scotland international, who hasn’t yet scored for his national side either, isn’t that man.