Wolverhampton Wanderers seem to be emerging from the ashes of a trialling summer at Molineux, after the club were forced to undergo restrictions due to issues relating to financial fair play (FFP).
The Old Gold offloaded a host of key talent in order to generate profit to balance the books, leaving the squad inherited by Gary O’Neil short on quality and with little direction.
Last campaign, Wolves went through a rollercoaster of obstacles, from managerial changes, to relegation threats, to lack of individual performance, with all issues somewhat overcome as Julen Lopetegui ensured the club remained in the Premier League.
While the Midlands side generated millions thanks to departures on the back of the 2022/23 campaign, the club spent a magnitude of money to maintain certain squad members throughout the season with high wage demands.
Despite it being a testing time for all at the club, some players earned their salaries on the pitch more than others, as highlighted by the end-of-season statistics that saw Wolves as the lowest-scorers in the league with just 31 scored in 38 games played.
While there was little improvement in the third throughout the course of the season, it can’t be said that no efforts were made to bolster the options in attack at the beginning of the campaign, with one deadly talisman hired to reinstate the goals.
Why did Wolves sign Diego Costa?
In September 2022, it was announced that Wolves had signed former Chelsea striker Diego Costa as a free agent on a one-year deal.
The season prior to his Premier League return, the Spaniard had been playing back in his birth country of Brazil at Clube Atletico Mineiro, after abruptly leaving Atletico Madrid for personal reasons.
On paper, it was the ideal capture for Bruno Lage’s side, who were left depleted in the strike department after 2022 summer signing Sasa Kalajdzic ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament shortly after arriving.
It was always a wish for the Old Gold to bring in further reinforcements to the front line to compete with, and support, Raul Jimenez, who was struggling for form and had become a less reliable outlet for goals at Molineux.
Despite signing at the age of 34, Wolves knew just how potent Costa could be in England, given his proficiency when leading the line at Stamford Bridge during his three-year spell at Chelsea.
How many goals did Diego Costa score?
Renowned for his bizarre on-pitch antics, his animalistic approach to play and most prominently, his goal-scoring presence, Costa had one of the highest rises and falls in the Premier League.
After signing for Chelsea from Atletico Madrid for £32m in 2014, the Blues knew just how much of a prolific striker they were receiving, as he ended the 2013/14 campaign as La Liga’s third-highest scorer behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Costa netted 27 goals in 35 appearances in his final season at Atletico, continuing his rich scoring streak in the Premier League as he scored 20 in 26 league appearances for Chelsea to guide the Blues to the title.
While his form dipped to 12 goals in 28 appearances the season after in the league, he amended his tally in the 2016/17 campaign back to 20 to repeat history and assist Chelsea in once again winning the league.
After three years, Costa dramatically returned to Atletico after experiencing differences with Antonio Conte, drawing a line under his career in England with 59 goals in 120 appearances for the west Londoners.
Four years after his departure from the Premier League, he returned sporting the Old Gold of Wolves, yet his scoring record was far from as stellar as it was at Stamford Bridge.
