Wolverhampton Wanderers tried to sign Nelson Oliveira in January but couldn’t agree on a price, so the deal fell through – AEK Athens wanted £5.5m for the 28-year-old but Wolves were unwilling to pay more than £3.8m.
The Midlands outfit still need a striker to provide cover for Raul Jimenez next season, however, so could Ludovic Ajorque be the answer? The 26-year-old isn’t well known outside of France but has enjoyed a prolific season with Racing Strasbourg and could be an ideal signing for Nuno Espirito Santo.
Ajorque joined Strasbourg from Clermont Foot for £1.8m in 2018 and has gone on to make 64 appearances in all competitions, scoring 22 goals and making seven assists. Like Oliveira, he can operate as a target man, holding up the ball to bring others into the attack, and he wouldn’t break the bank either.
CIES Football Observatory rated him at €10m-€15m on March 11 while Transfermarkt rated the 26-year-old at £7.65m on March 13. Ajorque has had a hand in 16 goals in 35 games this season and would be an improvement on the likes of Leonardo Campana and Renat Dadashow.
As per WhoScored, the 26-year-old has created 16 chances, completed 70.3% of his 495 passes, won 115 aerial duels (58%), had seven successful dribbles (36.8%), had 50 shots with 44% hitting the target, won 21 free-kicks and made 15 tackles. Ajorque has even been touted for a callup to the French national team.
He’s not as agile or skilful as Jimenez, but he’s a player who could do a similar job in terms of bringing others into the attack. Burnley and Crystal Palace have scouted a game the Frenchman featured in, but he doesn’t appear to be on the radar of any Premier League clubs.
Wolves may be free to sign Ajorque if they please.