Wolves have had one of their stars included in Alan Shearer’s Premier League team of the week for matchweek 28, with Rayan Ait-Nouri named alongside a host of the league’s best performers.
Wolves secured a hard-fought three points against Fulham on Saturday at Molineux, with Gary O’Neil seeing his side move to within two points of seventh place with 10 games to go.
The Old Gold laughed in the face of adversity to collect three points from the Londoners as the contest was tainted by injury, seeing Pedro Neto and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde withdrawn early.
Despite the piling pressures that O’Neil’s shrinking squad now faces with their fresh injury woes, the Midlands club were hailed for their ability to dig deep and beat Marco Silva’s inform side.
With four forwards injured either before or during the fixture, as Neto and Bellegarde joined Matheus Cunha and Hwang Hee-chan on the sidelines, the goals came from an unlikely source, as up stepped Wolves’ fullbacks.
Alan Shearer names Rayan Ait-Nouri in his Premier League Team of the Week
One of the Old Gold’s scorers was Rayan Ait-Nouri, who executed a fine finish beyond Bernd Leno to give the hosts the lead in the second half.
Aside from his goal, the Algerian put in an admirable shift against Fulham, with his display seeing the 22-year-old earn a place in Alan Shearer’s Premier League Team of the Week.
Ait-Nouri was selected in a defensive trio by the league’s record goalscorer, named alongside the formidable Virgil van Dijk and Ben White, who were impressive for their respective sides this week.
Shearer penned a line about the versatile Wolves fullback, dubbing him a “constant threat” for O’Neil’s side during the contest.
“Was a constant threat down that left side and showed excellent composure to open the scoring.”
Rayan Ait-Nouri could be a contender for Wolves player of the season
Naturally, when it comes to looking to the end of the season, names such as Pedro Neto, Joao Gomes and Matheus Cunha stand out as Wolves’ top performers however, Ait-Nouri is certainly up there as being one of the best in O’Neil’s squad.
So often has the Algerian shown his versatility this season, being able to defend competently and venture forward with a tireless energy and desire to fight for more at Molineux.
The 22-year-old was praised heavily by his manager after his display against Fulham, who dubbed the defender as a “very important” asset to the club for his work this campaign.
After his performance on Saturday, Ait-Nouri’s inclusion in Shearer’s Team of the Week comes as little surprise in what has been a stellar season so far for the £10k-a-week fullback.