If, like many industries, the business of football transfer speculation seemed to be heading into recession, Ilkay Gundogan did his best to give it a boost with his weekend tribute to Raul Jimenez. “I can imagine him playing with us,” he said of the Wolves striker.
None of which actually makes a move to Manchester City imminent. While Sergio Aguero’s contract expires in 2021, so does Pep Guardiola’s; predicting the Argentinian’s successor entails knowing if Guardiola will stay or who or what another manager may want.
Gundogan managed to rile some in the Midlands by saying: “He would get a chance in every top-six side.” As some Wolves fans were quick to point out, he is already in one. They are not, though, one of the supposed ‘Big Six’.
But the most pertinent part was his analysis of Jimenez. “For a striker he is so mobile, but also physically so good and talented technically on the ball,” the German said. It is the range of attributes that makes Jimenez arguably the best all-round striker in the Premier League.
While Aguero is more of a poacher, Jamie Vardy and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang sprinters who flourish on the fringes of games and Roberto Firmino the workaholic whose goals have been infrequent, Jimenez offers something of everything.
He is durable enough to have played 44 times in all competitions this season and potent enough to have scored 22 times. He is persistent enough to have the third most shots on target in the Premier League. He has 13 goals and six assists in it, meaning only Kevin de Bruyne, Jamie Vardy, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane have been directly involved in more goals.
He is rarely the best at anything, but has a capacity to play a part in a variety of ways. Wyscout data, used by clubs, from the Comparisonator website shows that Jimenez is the most multifunctional centre-forward in England.
He ranks third among strikers behind Aguero and Gabriel Jesus for most shots per 90 minutes. He is seventh for most headers at goal and, highlighting Gundogan’s observations about his mobility, seventh for most successful dribbles.
Jimenez is fourth for assists; perhaps, with better finishing by his team-mates, that could be higher as he stands second – behind only Heung-Min Son, in his sporadic outings as a centre-forward – for passes that lead to a shot.
His distribution can be in dangerous areas but he also has a passing range. Jimenez is fifth for successful passes in the final third and third for key passes but also top for successful long passes.
There are ways of illustrating that he can contribute to different types of attacks. Jimenez ranks seventh for ball recoveries that lead to a shot inside 20 seconds; setting up a quick counter-attack, in other words, which is a key part of modern football.
There is other evidence of his teamwork. Adama Traore has five assists for Jimenez goals this season, making them the second most productive combination behind De Bruyne and Aguero. When roles are reversed, the Mexican has three assists for Traore’s strikes. Indeed, he has three assists against City this season, helping Wolves do a double and, presumably, him catch Gundogan’s eye.
Goals against City, Liverpool and Tottenham, like last season’s strikes against Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Spurs, indicate Jimenez is no flat-track bully. Whether a player who turns 29 in three weeks represents a long-term option and whether a club as rich as Wolves would sell are moot points, but the praise for player who is scorer and supplier, a menace in the air and a threat with the ball at his feet, feels earned.
