Former Premier League star and current pundit Darren Bent believes one of Manchester United or Chelsea should make the effort to sign Raul Jimenez from Wolverhampton Wanderers in the summer.
The Mexico international did not have the best of goalscoring record when he arrived from Benfica initially on loan but over the past 20 months, he has proved a huge hit for Wolves while leading the line.
Jimenez netted 17 times during the course of his debut season with Wolves and he has already bettered that feat this term with 20 goals, with one-third of the campaign left.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Bent revealed that a number of elite European clubs are holding an interest in Jimenez and believes Chelsea and United could be leading the race for his signature.
He added that the Mexican has the Premier League experience to bank upon and he would prove a great signing for either of the clubs ahead of next season.
“From what I’m hearing, there will be a lot of top clubs trying to sign him in the summer. He could do a job at Chelsea. I can see Manchester United or Chelsea coming in for him. Jimenez knows the Premier League, so that is the advantage so he would be a great signing for either,” he told.
Chelsea have depended on Tammy Abraham as the centre-forward for most of the season but they has been barely any competition for him with Michy Batshuayi struggling to impress off the bench while Olivier Giroud looks on course to leave the club on a free this summer.
In comparison, United have recently loaned Odion Ighalo from Shanghai Shenhua to provide the physical presence upfront which has been missing since the exit of Romelu Lukaku. A permanent deal for the Nigerian will depend on his performances over the next four months.
As such, both teams are genuinely in need of a striking reinforcement during this summer’s transfer window and it remains to be seen whether they are willing to meet the demands of Wolves, who won’t sell on the cheap with more than three years remaining on the striker’s deal.
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