Wolves’ Rayan Ait-Nouri was a menace vs Brighton | OneFootball

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Football FanCast

·9 May 2021

Wolves’ Rayan Ait-Nouri was a menace vs Brighton

Article image:Wolves’ Rayan Ait-Nouri was a menace vs Brighton

Once the season comes to a close, there will be plenty of decisions for Nuno Santo to make at Wolves.

With plenty of players due to head back to their parent clubs at the end of their loan spells, he needs to determine whether they are good enough for a permanent move.


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When it comes to Willian Jose, it feels unlikely that the Old Gold will take up their option to buy. After all, the Brazilian has found the net just once since moving from Real Sociedad.

One of the more interesting cases will be Rayan Ait-Nouri. The French youngster hasn’t had a blistering season but he came alive during the club’s late 2-1 win over Brighton on Sunday afternoon.

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Nuno used this game as a look ahead to next season with a number of young players handed rare starts.

Max Kilman and Ki-Jana Hoever were back in the side while Morgan Gibbs-White even played, scoring a dramatic late winner.

Ait-Nouri has an uncertain future but on this evidence, Wolves should throw the cheque book at Angers in a bid to bring him to Molineux permanently.

Article image:Wolves’ Rayan Ait-Nouri was a menace vs Brighton

He was a rampant figure down the left-hand side as he put pre-match fitness doubts to rest with a phenomenal display.

The Frenchman possessed unbelievable amounts of energy and caused openings at every avenue. He provided three key passes which was more than any player on the pitch. Ait-Nouri flew down the left on a regular basis and caused havoc for the winning goal.

He sold one Brighton player with a step-over before cutting the ball back from the byline. It pinballed around before finding its way into the path of Gibbs-White who buried the opportunity in clinical fashion.

That semi-assist was richly deserved for Ait-Nouri but this type of display should come as no surprise especially after comments from his former manager Stephane Moulin last year.

He said: “He also made a lot of progress athletically. I also like his way of evolving, he is a modern player, able to eliminate his opponent and make assists. He creates play and danger. Now, he takes on another dimension because he begins to defend well collectively while being interesting individually.”

Those words perfectly summed up what he brought to the table on Sunday afternoon, putting in a ruthless performance that was simply too hot to handle for the Seagulls defence.

Article image:Wolves’ Rayan Ait-Nouri was a menace vs Brighton

The Athletic’s Tim Spiers remarked on Twitter during the game that he was “involved in just about everything” and it’s hard to disagree with that sentiment. Ait-Nouri registered three dribbles and completed an impressive 94% of his passes.

On top of that, the left-back provided four dangerous crosses that the visitors had to snuff out.

It may have been Adama Traore who came on and made the difference with his goal but during the course of the 90 minutes, it was Ait-Nouri who provided the impetus. He deserves equal praise for his role this weekend.

AND in other news, Wolves beast who became “ridiculous” under Nuno sees his value rise by 180% in 3 years …

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