Raul Jimenez has agreed a free transfer return to Wolves, aiming to guide the club back to the Premier League while leading Mexico at a home World Cup. The 35-year-old striker signs after leaving Fulham and will combine promotion ambitions with a central role for El Tri.

The move gives Wolves a proven goalscorer for the 2026-27 Championship season after relegation followed a poor 2025-26 campaign. Jimenez accepts a two-year deal, with an option for an extra 12 months, and is expected to start as first-choice striker under head coach Rob Edwards.

Edwards describes the signing as strategic rather than sentimental, stressing Jimenez’s influence on and off the pitch. Edwards told Wolves’ website: “He was involved in the club’s greatest time for a number of years, and he was a big part of that.” The coach believes Jimenez still offers decisive quality in attack.

Edwards also underlines the planning behind the deal, referencing the club’s targets for immediate promotion. Edwards added: “I know what he means to the football club and to the supporters, but this is not a signing we’ve made just because it’s an emotional one. This is a signing we’ve made because we really believe that he’s the right man to be able to help us achieve our aims, so we’re delighted to have him.”

Jimenez first joined Wolves in 2018 and stayed until 2023, becoming the club’s leading Premier League scorer. Across 135 league matches, Jimenez hit 40 goals. That run included 13 goals in the 2018-19 season and 17 in 2019-20, as Wolves finished seventh in successive campaigns.

During that period, Jimenez suffered a fractured skull against Arsenal in November 2020, a serious injury that halted his progress. Jimenez later returned and played two further seasons at Molineux before signing for Fulham, where the forward scored 28 Premier League goals across three campaigns at Craven Cottage.

Raul Jimenez Wolves statistics and World Cup context

Key numbers from Jimenez’s top-flight club career are shown below, underlining why Wolves moved quickly to secure a deal:

{TABLE_1}

Jimenez becomes Wolves’ second free-transfer arrival of the summer window, following Kieran Trippier’s move after the defender left Newcastle United. The pair add experience to a squad targeting a swift return to the top division, with Wolves seeking to stabilise after last season’s relegation.

While the deal is announced, Jimenez is focused on Mexico’s World Cup opener against South Africa on Thursday. Mexico host the tournament for a record third time and arrive with a strong record in first matches, staying unbeaten in seven openers with five wins and two draws since 1994.

Mexico’s last defeat in a World Cup opener came in 1994, when Norway claimed a 1-0 victory. That history, combined with Jimenez’s return to familiar surroundings at Molineux, frames a pivotal period for both club and country as competitions on domestic and global stages approach.