Wolverhampton Wanderers have endured a difficult start to the Premier League season as they have only won two of their opening eight matches.
Gary O'Neil was brought in to replace Julen Lopetegui over the summer and the former Bournemouth head coach has lost four of his eight league games in charge of the club so far.
These results have left the Old Gold 14th in the table and four points above the bottom three with 30 outings left to go before the end of the campaign.
Goalscoring has been a problem area for a number of years at Wolves and not much has changed in that regard as they have found the back of the net nine times in eight games.
Daniel Podence
Six
Ruben Neves
Six
Hee-chan Hwang
Three
Adama Traore
Two
Matheus Cunha
Two
Wolves' top-five scorers last season (via WhoScored)
The January transfer window opens in just over two months and that will provide O'Neil with the opportunity to dip into the market to add another attacking option, if their lack of production in front of goal continues between now and then.
One player whom the English boss should look to reignite his interest in is Leicester City ace Kelechi Iheanacho, who could be a big upgrade on Matheus Cunha.
Were Wolves interested in Iheanacho?
Football Insider reported in August that Wolves were keen on a deal to snap up the Nigeria international before the deadline during the summer transfer window.
Iheanacho, who was signed by the Foxes from Manchester City for a reported fee of £25m in 2017, was said to be content at the King Power and that the club needed to persuade him to ditch his current team.
Ultimately, the former Cityzens marksman remained with the Championship side and has been a star within the EFL so far this season.
However, his current contract with Leicester is due to expire at the end of the 2023/24 campaign and this could open the door to a possible move in January.
Unless he puts pen to paper on a new deal before the start of next year, the Foxes will risk losing him for nothing in the summer if they opt against cashing in on the talented ace during the next transfer window.
Therefore, Wolves could swoop in with an offer to ensure that Leicester are compensated for his departure and offer the player a return to the Premier League, eight months faster than he would via promotion with the second-tier outfit.
How many goals has Iheanacho scored this season?
The Nigerian dynamo has scored five goals in all competitions for his club this season and recently scored in a friendly against Saudi Arabia for his country.
Iheanacho has racked up four goals and one assist in six Championship starts for Enzo Maresca's side, and has outperformed his xG by 0.11. He also has a reason to be frustrated with his teammates as they have only scored once from the three 'big chances' that the left-footed whiz has created.
Sofascore rating
7.7
Goals
One
Chances created
Two
Big chances created
One
Dribble success rate
100%
Iheanacho's most recent Leicester performance (via Sofascore)
The ex-Manchester City prospect showcased his talent as a scorer and a creator throughout the 2023/24 campaign so far but that has been expected of him, due to his form at Premier League level in recent seasons.
How many Premier League goals has Iheanacho scored?
He has racked up 42 goals and 28 assists in 196 Premier League matches over the course of his career with City and Leicester combined.
Between the 2020/21 and 2022/23 campaigns, Iheanacho plundered an eye-catching 21 goals and 18 'big chances' created in 40 league starts for the Foxes.
Last term, the 27-year-old whiz scored five goals and provided five assists in 11 top-flight starts, whilst he also produced seven 'big chances' for his teammates at the top end of the pitch.
In fact, Iheanacho ranked within the top 4% of his positional peers at Premier League level for assists (0.40), xAG (0.32), and shot-creating actions (3.59) per 90 last season.
These statistics suggest that the Nigeria international is an exceptional creative threat from a number nine position, who is also able to chip in with goals of his own.
Meanwhile, no Wolves player managed more than two league assists and no one with at least 20 starts scored more than three goals for the club, as per WhoScored.
How many goals has Cunha scored for Wolves?
Cunha, on the other hand, has scored three goals and provided two assists in 29 appearances for the Old Gold in all competitions since the start of the year.
The Brazil international, who joined from Atletico Madrid on a permanent deal during the summer, spent the first five months of 2023 on loan and contributed with two goals and one 'big chance' created in 11 Premier League starts.
He has followed that up with a less-than-impressive start to the current campaign with one goal and two 'big chances' created in eight league starts for the club.
Cunha does not rank within the top 25% of his positional peers in any of the aforementioned creative statistics that the Leicester star excelled in last season, which suggests that his creativity does not make up for his lack of goal threat.
Should Wolves sign Iheanacho?
Taking their respective statistics into account, O'Neil must reignite his interest in Iheanacho in January as he could provide far more quality as both a scorer and a creator at the top end of the pitch.
The Old Gold should swoop to sign the £90k-per-week gem, who was once dubbed "incredible" by ex-boss Brendan Rodgers, and take advantage of his contract situation in order to bolster their squad for the second half of the campaign.
It remains to be seen how much it would take to snap him up from the Championship side, as he has been a star in the EFL this term, but his form within the top two tiers of English football in recent years suggests that the gem would be a fantastic signing.
O'Neil could improve his Wolves team and add more goals to his attack by bringing Iheanacho in to replace Cunha at the top end of the pitch.
