Wolves opinion: Nuno Santo should stay away from Stephane Bahoken

According to Birmingham Live, Wolves and Leicester City are ready to go head-to-head in a transfer tug of war over Cameroonian forward Stephane Bahoken in the summer transfer window, with the report claiming that newly-promoted club Aston Villa have also been credited with an interest in the 27-year-old.

Bahoken is currently in Egypt to represent Cameroon at the African Cup of Nations and Birmingham Live understands that Wolves’ representatives have also flown to Egypt to hold talks over the potential deal in the summer.

The report claims that Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers is keen to add at least another centre-forward to his ranks, following the release of Shinji Okazaki, with the likes of Kelechi Iheanacho failing to make an impact and big-money flop Islam Slimani way down the pecking order at the club.

The 27-year-old netted 11 goals in 32 appearances for Angers in Ligue 1 this past season and those returns have seemingly caught the eye of Wolves, who are apparently desperate to bring the Cameroonian international to Molineux this summer.

Bahoken registered his best ever goal tally in the French top-flight in his debut season at Angers and he might as well earn a coveted move to the Premier League as a result of his exploits.

A youth product of OGC Nice, Bahoken made his senior professional debut for his boyhood club back in the 2010-11 season but he struggled for regular first-team opportunities and made only 18 competitive appearances over the course of four seasons, spending time on loan at St. Mirren in the Scottish Premiership.

The 27-year-old signed for Strasbourg in the Championnat National back in 2014 and was a key part of the club’s journey through the divisions, eventually guiding them to promotion to Ligue 1.

Bahoken scored 23 goals in 103 appearances for Strasbourg in all competitions before joining Angers last summer.

Although his first season at Angers yielded decent returns, the 27-year-old’s numbers in French football do not look all that great, and it is quite inexplicable as to why Wolves are so desperate to get a deal for him over the line.

The 5-cap Cameroonian international hardly has a prolific record in France and given that he is not a very established striker in the top-flight by any means, the Premier League clubs should do their homework on the player before firming up their interest in him.

To put things into perspective, Wolves need to add more depth and quality to their attack before the next season gets underway, given that the club is going to take part in the qualifying stages of the Europa League this term.

The Black Country outfit’s inclination to sign attacking reinforcements certainly makes a lot of sense but they need to make sure that whoever comes through the door arrives as an upgrade on their existing options.

The likes of Diogo Jota and Raul Jimenez formed a formidable and deadly pairing up front for Nuno Santo’s side, and if Wolves are really keen to add more cover and competition to their ranks, they might as well look at some young and talented attacker.

They have already deemed the likes of Helder Costa and Ivan Cavaleiro surplus to demands and one cannot help but feel that Stephane Bahoken won’t be much of an upgrade on the out-of-favour duo.

A goal tally of 11 in Ligue 1 hardly guarantees that Bahoken would be able to thrive in the Premier League, given the difference in the level of intensity and quality between the two leagues in question.

Conclusion

Bahoken is already 27, meaning that one would not expect him to add too much to his game in the future.

To Read More Wolves News, Click Here:- Latest Wolves News

Having said that, Wolves should drop their interest in Stephane Bahoken and look at better options in the market, given that they are currently flying high and certainly not short of cash by any means.