Wolves skipper Coady makes bold ‘best in the world’ claim about ace
England defender Conor Coady has made a surprise claim about one of his Wolves team-mates.
The West Midlands outfit endured a slow start to life under Bruno Lage. They were beaten 1-0 in each of their first three Premier League games.
Results have since improved, with victories over Watford and Southampton getting them up and running for the season.
Wolves will be looking to replicate the seventh-placed finishes they managed in 2018-19 and 2019-20.
One man who will be integral to that is Mexican talisman Raul Jimenez. The player bagged 17 goals in 38 matches in 2019-20 to prove himself as one of the top strikers in England.
He followed that up with four goals towards the start of last season. However, his campaign was abruptly ended by a fractured skull against Arsenal.
Wolves missed his presence in attack and went on to finish 13th on 45 points.
Jimenez is now back and managed to get on the scoresheet against Saints. He shrugged off Jan Bednarek before calmly finishing past Alex McCarthy.
Reacting to the match, Coady said of the striker: “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.
“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.
Nuno Espirito Santo in perilous position after Tottenham derby thumping by Arsenal
“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 per cent and 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.”
Jimenez reacts to Wolves return
When asked about his goal against Saints, Jimenez said: “Of course I have been looking for this goal since the start of the Premier League and now I feel really good. It feels fantastic to be back on the scoresheet.
“I was really excited in that moment when I was there, looking for the ball, winning the ball, then dribbled [past] the last defender. I put my head up and I saw – ‘OK, this is mine’, and I just shot and I knew it was going in. It feels really good.
“It means a lot; a lot of hard work during this nine months, well almost 11 months now. I have to keep working like this, I have to be focused on what I want.”
The centre-forward will be aiming to get on the scoresheet again in Wolves’ next match. They play Newcastle on Saturday afternoon.
READ MORE: Tottenham fears realised as title winners move to secure Nuno favourite
The post Wolves skipper Coady makes bold ‘best in the world’ claim about ace appeared first on TEAMtalk.