Wolves could sign a “1v1 specialist” who’s a dream Sarabia upgrade

Wolverhampton Wanderers are blessed with plenty of attacking talent, some of whom have performed well up to this point despite the tough season in 2024/25. Of course, the best of the bunch has been Matheus Cunha, who has ten goals and four assists in the Premier League this season, more than any other Wolves player.

Another player performing almost as well as the Brazilian is striker Jorgen Strand Larsen. His loan move from Celta Vigo has been successful on a personal level so far, and he has seven goals and two assists in the top flight this term.

However, one player who has not performed well this season is experienced attacker Pablo Sarabia.

Sarabia’s 2024/25 season so far

It has not been a good campaign for Spanish forward Sarabia. He has simply not been able to break into the team under previous manager Gary O’Neil, or current boss Vitor Pereira, which is perhaps surprising given his experience.

The 32-year-old has played for some big clubs throughout his career. He made 151 appearances for La Liga side Sevilla, played 98 games for French giants Paris Saint-Germain and 48 times for Portuguese club Sporting.

You may well think that, with all that experience, Sarabia would have been a really important player for the Old Gold. Yet, he has played just nine times

in all competitions this term, scoring once in the Premier League in a 2-0 win against Southampton.

Overall, Sarabia’s record for the Midlands club is not great, with just six goals and ten assists in 58 appearances. Despite the experience he brings, he has arguably left a lot to be desired throughout his time at Molineux.

Thus, it might not be a surprise to learn that the Old Gold are considering new attacking reinforcements, and their Spanish attacker could be in line to be replaced if this deal gets done.

Wolves’ dream Sarabia upgrade

The player in question here is Moroccan international winger Zakaria Aboukhlal. The 24-year-old, who currently plies his trade at Ligue 1 side Toulouse, is said to be ‘at the top’ of the list for Wolves, according to a report from Foot Mercato late last week.

The report suggested that the Midlands club are ‘following the Toulouse star very closely and are hoping to attract him’, citing his versatility as a reason that they want to bring him within the next couple of weeks.

Indeed, he has played right across the frontline for the Ligue 1 outfit this season, but the majority of his work has come as a right-winger, making him a like-for-like replacement for Sarabia, who also pays out there.

This season, the Moroccan international has impressed with six goals and two assists in 17 matches. Arguably his best moment came in a 3-0 win over Montpellier, where he scored twice and grabbed an assist, contributing to all three goals.

In terms of his profile, the 24-year-old was described as a “1v1 specialist” by football analyst Ben Mattinson. That certainly highlights one of his biggest attributes, his threat in one-on-one situations against a defender, where he will not shy away from taking on his man.

Indeed, this high volume and ability of ball-carrying from Aboukhlal are perhaps one reason why they are interested in signing him. In fact, the stats on FBref from the 2023/24 campaign suggest he is a better carrier than Sarabia. Last season’s numbers have been used to, essentially, get a bigger sample size.

Per 90 minutes last season, the Toulouse star averaged 2.74 progressive carries and 0.95 success take-ons. Both of these numbers are better than Wolves’ number 21, who averaged 2.11 progressive carries and 0.88 successful take-ons each game.

There is no doubt that Aboukhlal would be an upgrade on Sarabia. The Moroccan winger would bring excellent ball-carrying and a huge one-on-one threat, something the Spaniard simply does not offer, as the stats show. He is also someone who can score and create goals and has done so more than Sarabia this term.

This could be an incredibly smart signing for the Old Gold, who would be adding quality depth to their side and a unique threat which they don’t really have in that right number ten position.