Wolverhampton Wanderers have confirmed that Raul Jimenez has signed for fellow Premier League side Fulham.
Since the end of the season, Wolves have parted ways with a number of legendary figures, with Conor Coady and Ruben Neves joining Leicester City and Al-Hilal respectively.
Joao Moutinho has also departed on a free transfer, yet Julen Lopetegui confirmed in an interview with Guillem Balague on Tuesday that Jimenez would be the next out of the door.
The Mexico international had been linked with an exit for some time having fallen down the pecking order since Lopetegui arrived at the club ahead of the World Cup break.
Nevertheless, it has become apparent that the forward's switch to Craven Cottage is as much down to the ongoing financial situation at Wolves as it is down to footballing reasons.
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While a transfer fee has not been officially revealed, it has been widely reported that the West Londoners are paying £5.5m for the 32-year-old.
Jimenez leaves Wolves having significantly contributed to the club becoming established in the Premier League during his stay, contributing 40 goals and 19 assists from 135 outings in England's top flight.
A further 17 strikes came in other competitions as Wolves enjoyed a run to the 2018-19 FA Cup semi-finals and the quarter-finals of the 2019-20 Europa League.
However, although Jimenez was fortunately able to continue his professional career, he has never rediscovered his previous form since sustaining a fractured skull in a game with Arsenal at the back end of 2020.
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In 841 minutes of Premier League football in 2022-23 spread across 15 appearances, Jimenez failed to find the back of the net, and Wolves have now taken the opportunity to cash in on his signature at a time when he had less than a year remaining on his contract.
Fulham have handed the former Benfica man a two-year contract and he will now compete with at least Carlos Vinicius for a starting role down the middle of the attack.
First-choice frontman Aleksandar Mitrovic is said to be closing in on a transfer to Al-Hilal, but Jimenez is allegedly not regarded as a straight replacement for the Serbia international.
Jimenez will now travel to the United States where the Cottagers are currently competing in the Premier League Summer Series, with games against Aston Villa and Chelsea to come before the end of the week.
Darren Plant
