With zero goals to his name since his January arrival in the Premier League, Wolves' Willian Jose hasn't exactly hit the ground running. 

Wolves' 1-1 draw at St. James Park this weekend marked Jose's eighth game without a goal, and The Athletic's Tim Spiers believes the Brazilian's form has taken a downward turn.

"Willian Jose's form has dipped," Spiers stated on The Athletic's discussion page. "Much of (Pedro) Neto and (Adama) Traore's excellent play is going unrewarded." 

The Brazilian was drafted in from Real Sociedad in January to act as cover for Raul Jimenez, who sustained a fractured skull against Arsenal at the tail end of November. 

However, Jimenez's replacement has struggled to reach the same heights as the Mexican, as his goalless drought continues. 

GIVEMESPORT's Tom Kelly says... 

Filling the Jimenez-shaped void in Wolves' starting XI was always going to be a difficult challenge. Ever since Jimenez's initial arrival at Molineux, he has been the focal point of the Wolves attack, scoring 17 goals last campaign.

His absence from the Wolves frontline is clearly evident but Nuno Espirito Santo has continued to back his replacement.

Following the Newcastle draw, the Wolves manager praised his striker's performance, claiming that he's a "hard worker" and the team just needs to recognise his movement better.

In Wolves' 2-1 victory over Arsenal in February, we were offered a glimpse of what Jose could potentially offer in the Premier League. 

Although he didn't convert that day, he was a pro-active presence with two shots on goal and one key pass, earning a performance rating of 7.44 from Whoscored

However, Spiers' recent claim regarding his dip in form can also be backed up by WhoScored statistics. 

In his last two outings for Wolves, the striker failed to record a single shot on goal.

Against Leeds United, Jose was a more creative influence as he provided four key passes, but failed to make a scoring opportunity of his own. 

In the Brazilian's most recent appearance against Newcastle United, he was given a Whoscored rating of 6.40 and had just 25 touches of the ball - ten less than goalkeeper Rui Patricio.

Moreover, he recorded just a single key pass, while also being dispossessed on three occasions and taking four unsuccessful touches.

Wolves currently have a £22m option-to-buy clause for Jose but they'll struggle to justify activating it based on his recent form.