Captain Karl Henry believes Wolves man of the moment Sylvan Ebanks-Blake has already paid back his £1.5m transfer fee and backed him to score in the Premier League.Ebanks-Blake’s double and matchwinner Henry sank Charlton 3-2 at the weekend to lift Wolves back into the play-off zone.
The former Plymouth striker has scored nine in 14 games since his arrival from Argyle and 22 this season.
Henry said: “At £1.5m, he’s probably paid that back already. It’s ‘Asda price’ - an absolute bargain, a snip because he’s been different class.
“He’s been worth every penny of his transfer fee. Without a doubt he could go on and score goals in the Premier League.
“All good strikers need to have that belief they can score goals and he’s got that.
“He’s on fire and he’s been a great signing for us. I think he could be the difference in us going up.
“Goals are important - you can play as well as you want to but if you’re not scoring, you don’t win games.
“But he’s brought goals to us and he’s also a presence - he holds the ball up well for us and he’s given us an extra dimension.”
Henry revealed Ebanks-Blake could now be saddled with a new nickname after world great Diego Maradona following his wonder goal second effort at The Valley.
“Michael Gray brought a Maradona DVD on the coach - which we watched on the way to Charlton and Sylvan put it into practice,” he said.
“The lads might start calling him ‘Maradona’ now! It had his tricks, his dribbling and scoring and it definitely influenced Sylvan - not that he needs influencing at the moment.
“He put the DVD into practice on the pitch and we were delighted.
“He puts himself about, he works hard and he’s getting his rewards.”
Wolves aren’t now in action until their trip to leaders Bristol City in 12 days’ time.
Boss Mick McCarthy said: “Sylvan’s first goal was a great strike but I haven’t got a clue how he scored the second one.
“Alan Pardew (Charlton boss) wouldn’t have been too happy with the defending in how he was allowed to turn. I’d be knocking my defenders if we’d conceded it.
“But it was wonderful play and a fantastic goal.”
McCarthy admits he’s surprised by how well the striker has done.
“Did I expect that sort of impact from Sylvan this quickly? Absolutely!” joked the boss. “No, did I heck. I expected him to play and to score goals. But he’s even better than we thought he’d be because of the amount of goals he’s scored.”
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