Duckens Nazon not yet fit enough for Wolves first-team contention
Haiti international striker Duckens Nazon isn't yet being considered for a first-team berth, boss Paul Lambert has stated.
The 22-year-old joined the club in January after previously playing in the Indian Super League.
He scored his first goal for Scott Sellars' under-23 side against Brighton earlier this week in a game watched by Lambert.
Donovan Wilson also found the net in that game but Lambert suggested the pair weren't close to challenging Nouha Dicko and Jon Dadi Bodvarsson for a striking spot, citing Nazon's poor fitness as a factor.
"I still think they're a little bit behind," Lambert said
"Donovan's been scoring in the under-23s (but) there's a big gap between there and first-team level.
"The Checkatrade Trophy, with Ronan, Gibbs-White and Enobakhare, they performed against men.
"That was the difference. The under-23s is still sometimes young.
"The kids are doing great and the ones around the first-team at the minute are a little bit ahead of the other kids."
And on Nazon, who has a contract until the end of the season, the boss said: "His fitness was way low (when he joined), too low for the way I play and too low for the way the team plays.
"He's getting there, slowly but surely, but I still think he's a bit off it, which you expect because he's hasn't done much.
"He's got a couple of months to prove to himself and to me that he can do it.
"In the next few months we'll see how he does."
Dicko and Bodvarsson are both enduring long goal droughts. Dicko hasn't netted since his comeback in October from a serious knee injury, while Bodvarsson's last goal came in the return fixture at St Andrew's in August.
Despite their remarkable barren runs in front of goal, Lambert is pleased with the performances of his strikers.
"I thought Bodvarsson showed an incredible level of performance against Chelsea," he said. "All he needed was a goal. He didn't play like he hadn't been scoring.
"Nouha's the same, their work rate, effort and running, I can't ask for any more. Once one goes in I think they'll score on a regular basis, but we need to get the service to them."
