In a season laden with miserable days, Saturday was almost perfect for Wolverhampton Wanderers and Jorgen Strand Larsen.

Rob Edwards’ side claimed a comfortable FA Cup victory against their neighbours Shrewsbury Town, with the result never in doubt from the moment they raced into a 2-0 lead.

All of the players Edwards would have wanted to do well did so. The hugely popular Rodrigo Gomes returned from injury with a goal, and, most significantly of all, Strand Larsen struck a hat-trick.

It has been a horrid few months for the 25-year-old, right from the moment that former Wolves chairman Jeff Shi made it clear in the summer he would not grant the Norway international’s wish to leave Molineux and join Newcastle United for the lure of Champions League football.

From there, a Wolves career that had got off to a hugely impressive start last season began to unravel, with an Achilles injury that limited his ability to train and led to several trips to France for specialist treatment, a series of underwhelming displays and a missed penalty against Brentford.

There was regular, vocal criticism from fans and some obvious anger from Strand Larsen at the response he was getting.

“They (the fans) mean a lot to me and I think I’ve got some stick the last few weeks and months, and I understand it,” Strand Larsen told TNT Sports after Saturday’s win.

“I’m a goalscoring striker who hasn’t scored many goals and what I’ve been trying to do is just keep going. I know last season was an amazing season and hopefully I can keep coming back to that.

“Obviously, the team has to do it right and I’ve been pleased with the team in the last few weeks. I’ve been trying to help from the bench and hopefully soon in the future I can help from the start.”

Whether or not Strand Larsen gets the opportunity to reclaim his starting place from Tolu Arokodare depends on the outcome of the final three weeks of the transfer window. Despite a poor campaign so far, Strand Larsen has enough credit in the bank to be attracting interest from elsewhere in the Premier League.

The Athletic has reported that Nottingham Forest have him on their four-man shortlist of potential striker targets for the current window, while West Ham United and Crystal Palace also hold an interest.

Jorgen Strand Larsen scores the first of his three goals against Shrewsbury Town (Bradley Collyer/PA Images via Getty Images)

Wolves would not stand in his way should a suitable offer arrive, given that Arokodare has become their starting No 9 in recent weeks and Strand Larsen would be expected to leave in any event at the end of the season when, barring a miracle, the club will be relegated from the top flight.