Wolves supporters have witnessed some of their former players reach the pinnacle of world football after leaving Molineux while others have experienced a downward spiral.
Diogo Jota is perhaps the prime example of the former. Part of the Wolves 2017/18 Championship title-winning squad, the Portuguese forward has since become a star at Liverpool.
Fan favourite Ruben Neves, who wowed the Wolves faithful for years with his technical talents, is now earning lucrative money out in Saudi Arabia with Al Hilal.
Other more recent examples such as Pedro Neto and Max Kilman became stars in Wolverhampton before earning big-money moves elsewhere.
But one Wolves academy graduate has watched his career spiral in the opposite direction after previously making history at Molineux.
Wolves youngest Premier League debutant Anthony Forde released by Wrexham
Anthony Forde is a graduate of the Wanderers academy and in November 2011, he made Premier League history for Wolves by becoming their youngest-ever debutant in the competition.
At the age of just 18 years and 10 days, Forde came off the bench in the final 15 minutes as Wolves lost 3-0 against Chelsea.
The once fleet-footed winger made five further appearances during that campaign, even starting as a left winger in draws against Arsenal and Sunderland.
Wolves were eventually relegated from the Premier League on 25 points in 2012, and then they suffered back-to-back relegations in the following campaign, with Forde starting just once in the second tier.
Despite dropping into League One, the Irishman only played three more times for Wolves before being snapped up by Walsall in 2014 and then endured spells at Rotherham United, Oxford and most recently, Wrexham.
Forde was signed by Wrexham’s Hollywood owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds when they were in the National League, and he made 31 appearances in the 2022/23 campaign as the Red Dragons won promotion to League Two.
Unfortunately, Forde only made 14 appearances in the fourth tier as Phil Parkinson’s men earned back-to-back promotions to League One and was then left out of the squad at the start of the 2024/25.
It was then revealed earlier this month that Wrexham had chosen to release the 31-year-old by mutual consent, leaving him without a club for the remainder of the campaign.
From becoming Wolves’ youngest Premier League debut to seeing his career fall off a cliff, it’s been a turbulent decade for Forde.
Who are Wolves’ youngest Premier League debutants?
Alongside Forde, there are some other notable names on Wolves’ list of youngest-ever Premier League debutants, including flop striker Fabio Silva and Nottingham Forest star Morgan Gibbs-White.
| Name | Debut | Match | Age at debut |
| Anthony Forde | November 26th, 2011 | Chelsea 3-0 Wolves | 18 years, 10 days |
| Fabio Silva | September 21st, 2020 | Wolves 1-3 Man City | 18 years, 2 months, 2 days |
| Leon Chiwome | March 30th, 2024 | Aston Villa 2-0 Wolves | 18 years, 2 months, 20 days |
| Pedro Lima | January 6th, 2025 | Nottingham Forest 0-3 Wolves | 18 years, 6 months, 6 days |
| Morgan Gibbs-White | August 11th, 2018 | Wolves 2-2 Everton | 18 years, 6 months, 15 days |
The likes of Leon Chiwome and Pedro Lima, two Wolves teenagers, will hope to follow in a similar direction to Gibbs-White in the future and not Forde.