A transfer that was announced with snarling wolves, is looking increasingly like it may end with a whimper.
When Wolverhampton Wanderers turned to Diego Costa, it was done so with an air of desperation. The transfer window had been closed only three days when Sasa Kalajdzic suffered a knee injury which ended his first Premier League season before it was even started.
It meant that the Premier League strugglers had little choice but to look to the free agent market, with Raul Jimenez also struggling for fitness. Costa was quickly identified and was an option which very quickly got fans on board.
That excitement was understandable. Wolves have been desperate for a focal point ever since Jimenez’s Premier League dominance was cruelly halted by a sickening head injury. Before that incident, the Mexican could contend with the league’s best and played a crucial role in a side that were angling to be the ‘best of the rest’.
And despite his return being one of the genuine feel-good stories of last season, it quickly became apparent he wasn’t the player he once was. Wolves were a team sinking under Bruno Lage and Costa represented the final lifeboat.
Unfortunately for Lage, his time with the former Chelsea striker amounted to one game against West Ham, before he was sacked as manager. The former Spain international probably should have scored at the London Stadium, but threatened enough to suggest that some of those old instincts were there.
A cursory glance at YouTube highlights videos - usually accompanied by some European house music - showed exactly why Costa became one of the most feared strikers in world football. Strong, direct and with an unerring ability to squeeze shots past hapless goalkeepers.
During his time at Stamford Bridge he was one of the world’s best and THAT Diego Costa would have unquestionably been the difference between a relegation scrap and a top-half finish. But 2022/23 Diego Costa is no longer that Diego Costa.
The battling instincts are still there. Wolves fans have taken to his style of play after months of passive and inoffensive football under Lage. And his presence in the squad - from the outside looking in - appears to have had a galvanising impact. But aside from one or two moments, he hasn’t looked like a goalscoring threat.
It’s now 11 Wolves matches without a goal and new manager Julen Lopetegui appears to be scaling down his role. Against Manchester City last time out, with his side desperate for some bite up top, the 34-year-old remained an impatient spectator.
Even when the ineffective Jimenez was hooked at half-time, it was Matheus Cunha who replaced him. Lopetegui insisted that he remains in his plans, but hinted that every player - including Costa - needed to do more.
“He played for me in the first line-ups,” Lopetegui explained. “After he suffered an injury and now today he doesn’t play but he is able to play in the next matches.
“We hope that he can help us, but it’s important that all the players help the team to get our main aim of being outside the relegation (zone) by the last match. We have four very exciting and difficult months. We have to be ready - all the players in the squad have to be ready.”
That 3-0 defeat at the Etihad means Wolves remain outside of the relegation zone by virtue of goal difference alone. And with just 12 goals in 20 Premier League matches, it doesn’t take a genius to work out where the issues lie.
Wolves now have two weeks before their next game, with Liverpool heading to Molineux. By that time, the January transfer window will have closed and Costa’s standing in the squad will have become more clear.
“It’s always possible to improve the squad while the window is open, but it’s important to improve the players who are already here,” Lopetegui said when asked about further incomings.
If another striker does come in, it’s difficult to see where Costa will fit into a side which is rapidly evolving under an ambitious and successful new coach. He would love nothing more than to be involved against Liverpool - he has plenty of history with the Reds having nearly signed for them before his move to Chelsea.
And in nine games against them, he has four goals. The kind of ratio Wolves fans can only dream about. But whether Lopetegui thinks any of that counts remains to be seen. In fairness to Costa, he has still shown more than Jimenez, although that is hardly a competition victory worth boasting about.
His Molineux unveiling involved him holding three wolves back, Lopetegui now must decide whether he is doing the same to his Wolves team-mates.
