Summary Wolves must consider dropping Fabio Silva to the bench after his poor start to the season. His replacement is someone who offers far more in and out of possession. Only two players have outperformed the man who could replace Silva.
Wolverhampton Wanderers are heading into the international break off the back of a defeat after their 3-2 loss to Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Sunday.
How did Wolves lose to Palace?
The home side took the lead in the 56th minute after a relatively quiet first half as Tyrick Mitchell's low cross into the front post area was prodded into the back of the net by French centre-forward Odsonne Edouard.
Hwang Hee-chan soon levelled the scores less than ten minutes later as Pedro Neto's corner was diverted into the far corner by the South Korea international.
However, Gary O'Neil's side failed to push on to go and win the match as Palace took control and made it 3-1 by the 84th minute thanks to two superb goals from Eberechi Eze and Edouard, who both found room within the box to slot the ball past Jose Sa.
A 96th-minute consolation goal from Matheus Cunha had no bearing on the match as it came far too late for the away side to mount a comeback in the closing stages.
How did Fabio Silva perform against Palace?
One player who should be in danger of losing their place in the starting line-up is Fabio Silva after his disappointing performance at the top end of the pitch.
The 21-year-old marksman struggled, once again, to prove that he is ready to lead the line and offer a goal threat for Wolves. As a result, he must be ditched from the starting team in favour of Hwang, who has proven he is able to chip in with goals at this level.
Silva played 74 minutes of the game and offered very little in and out of possession. His lack of presence through the middle was evident as he lost four of his six ground duels and his only aerial battles throughout the clash.
The youngster also failed to register a single effort on target and accumulated a woeful 0.04 xG and 0.07 xA, showing that the Portuguese striker did not get into strong goalscoring positions or provide his teammates with opportunities in front of goal.
The former Porto starlet has started three of Wolves' four Premier League matches so far this season and has so far contributed with zero goals and has also failed to create any big chances for teammates.
His lack of strength has been on display throughout the campaign so far as the former PSV loanee has lost 100% of his aerial duels and 55% of his battles in total, whilst he has been unable to make up for that with his play in possession having missed two 'big chances'.
This underwhelming start to the season comes after Silva managed four goals and one assist in 14 Eredivisie matches for PSV last term, in which time he lost 65% of his physical contests and spurned four 'big chances' for the Dutch outfit.
Consequently, O'Neil should drop the talent from the XI after the international break as they host Liverpool at the Molineux. Instead, Hwang should be unleashed from the start.
How good is Hwang Hee-chan?
The £30k-per-week hotshot is far from a prolific number nine but his form at the start of this season suggests that he has the quality to offer considerably more than Silva at the top end of the pitch.
Goals have been hard to come by for Wolves in recent times as they only hit the back of the net 31 times in 38 Premier League matches last term and they have only managed four in four so far during the 2023/24 campaign, with two of those coming from the South Korean.
Hwang has showcased his qualities off the bench with two goals and one 'big chance' created for a teammate in three substitute outings, alongside a start in the only league win so far against Everton.
He has averaged an excellent Sofascore rating of 7.13 for the club with only two players – Jose Sa and Pedro Neto – having averaged higher ratings within the squad. It shows that the former RB Leipzig man has been one of the team's outstanding performers in spite of his limited time on the pitch.
The 27-year-old produced three goals and one assist in 12 top-flight starts during the 2022/23 campaign and five goals alongside one assist in 20 starts throughout the previous term. Again, hardly outstanding but there is untapped potential just waiting to be unleashed.
Over the last 365 days, Hwang ranks in the top 9% of his positional peers throughout Europe's top five leagues for non-penalty goals per 90 (0.41), showing that the talented frontman has been an efficient scorer compared to the minutes he has played against other strikers in Europe.
His superb level of production off the bench in recent weeks suggests that the versatile star, who can play on either flank or through the middle as a centre-forward, is able to offer far more than Silva, both as a scorer and a creator.
Hwang could also be a big upgrade on the young forward when it comes to putting in the hard yards for the team to do his defensive work against the ball.
During the 2022/23 campaign, the South Korean ranked within the top 11% or higher of his Premier League positional peers for tackles (1.59) and blocks (1.43) per 90, whilst he also made 0.40 interceptions per 90, as per FBref.
For context, Silva ranked within the bottom 38% or lower of his Eredivisie positional peers during his loan spell with PSV for tackles (0.44), blocks (0.59), and interceptions (0.15) per 90.
Evidently, the former RB Salzburg man offers far more than the 21-year-old striker out of possession to cut out opposition attacks at source. This is no doubt a valuable trait as it helps to prevent the other team from creating regular chances.
Therefore, O'Neil must unleash Hwang, who was once described as a "dangerous" forward by ex-Arsenal ace Kevin Campbell, from the start after the international break.
He'd certainly improve Wolves' attack to give them the best possible chance of scoring enough goals to pick up the points that they will ultimately need to beat the drop.