Wolverhampton Wanderers The team is blessed with a lot of attacking talent, some of whom have performed well to this point despite a difficult season in 2024/25. Naturally, the best of the bunch was Mateus Cunha, who did just that Ten goals and four assists In the Premier League this season, more than any other Wolves player.
Another player who performs almost as well as the Brazilian striker is striker Jurgen Strand-Larsen. His loan deal from Celta Vigo has been a success on a personal level so far, with him scoring seven goals and two assists in La Liga this season.
However, one player who has not performed well this season is experienced striker Pablo Sarabia.
Sarabia 2024/25 season so far
The campaign has not been good for Spanish striker Sarabia. He simply couldn't break into the team under former coach Gary O'Neill, or the current one Victor PereiraWhich may be surprising given his experience.
The 32-year-old has He played for some big clubs Throughout his career. He participated in 151 matches with the Spanish club Sevilla, played 98 matches with the French giant Paris Saint-Germain, and 48 matches with the Portuguese club Sporting.
You might think that with all this experience, Sarabia was a really important player for the old gold team. However, he did Played only nine times In all competitions this season, he has scored once in the Premier League in a 2-0 win over Southampton.
Overall, Sarabia's record with the Midlands club is not great, with just six goals and ten assists in 58 appearances. Despite the experience he brought, he left a lot to be desired throughout his time at Molineux.
Therefore, it may not be surprising to learn that the Old Gold are considering new attacking reinforcements, and their Spanish striker could be in line to be replaced if this deal goes through.
Wolves dream of upgrading Sarabia
The player in question here is the Moroccan international winger Zakaria Abu Khalal. The 24-year-old, who currently plies his trade at Ligue 1 side Toulouse, is said to be 'at the top' of Wolves' list. According to a report by Foot Mercato Late last week.
The Midlands club are “closely tracking the Toulouse star and hope to attract him”, the report noted, citing his versatility as a reason they want to bring him in over the next two weeks.
In fact, he has played up front for the Ligue 1 side this season, but the majority of his work has come as a right winger, making him an ideal replacement for Sarabia, who are also pushing there.
The Moroccan international has excelled this season by scoring six goals and two assists In 17 matches. Arguably his best moment came in the 3-0 win over Montpellier, where he scored two goals and provided an assist, contributing to all three goals.
In terms of his profile, the 24-year-old has been described as a '1v1 specialist'. By football analyst Ben Mattinson. This certainly highlights one of his biggest attributes, which is his threat in one-on-one situations against a defender, as he will not be shy about attacking his man.
In fact, Abu Khalal's sheer size and ball-carrying ability may be one of the reasons they were interested in signing him. In reality, Statistics on FBref From the 2023/24 season indicate that he is a better player than Sarabia. Last season's numbers were used to obtain a larger sample size.
Per 90 minutes last season, the Toulouse star averaged 2.74 progressive carries and 0.95 strike successes. Both of these numbers are better than Wolves' No. 21, who averaged 2.11 progressive moves and 0.88 successful passes per game.
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Compare Abu Khalal’s dribbling statistics against Sarabia |
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|---|---|---|
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State (per 90) |
Abu Khalal |
Sarabia |
|
Acquisitions completed |
0.95 |
0.88 |
|
Receipt completion rate |
25.8% |
39.5% |
|
Holds progressivism |
2.74 |
2.11 |
|
It carries to the last third |
1.55 |
2.68 |
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He enters the penalty area |
0.95 |
0.46 |
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Statistics from FBref |
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There is no doubt that Abu Khalal will be an upgrade for Sarabia. The Moroccan winger will bring excellent ball-carrying ability and a great individual threat, something the Spaniard simply does not offer, as the statistics show. He is also someone who can score and create goals and has done so more than Sarabia this season.
This could be an incredibly smart signing for the Old Gold, who would add quality depth to their side and a unique threat they don't really have in the right 10 position.
