Wolves put in one of their best displays of the season against Everton on New Year’s Eve – and former Molineux defender Lee Naylor praised Tommy Doyle after the match.
Wolves made it three wins in a row to round off 2023 in the perfect way – and Gary O’Neil oversaw a wonderful performance at Molineux.
Wanderers played some terrific stuff and were superior to Everton in all aspects.
The performance and 3-0 win was made all the more impressive considering there was no Mario Lemina, who was unavailable after learning of his father’s passing.
The Wolves players held aloft his shirt after the goals to show their support for the influential midfielder.
His replacement was Tommy Doyle, and the loanee from Manchester City came in for high praise from Lee Naylor after the game…
Lee Naylor says Tommy Doyle was ‘commanding’ for Wolves v Everton
Most of the talk after the game with Everton has been about Matheus Cunha, who was utterly brilliant against the Toffees.
The defenders came in for credit too, with Max Kilman and Craig Dawson both scoring.
But one man who was instrumental for Wolves was Doyle, who rarely wasted a pass and constantly showed for the ball in midfield.
The tidy Doyle completed 55/60 (92%) passes in the game, and it was perhaps no coincidence that Wolves put in their slickest performance with the young technician starting.
Speaking about Doyle after the game, and impressed Naylor said (via Wolves official): “He was excellent. When you have the opportunity – I know it came from Lemina’s loss and we send our condolences out to him – but you have to take it.
“You want to put in a performance for yourself and he went and did that. I thought he was commanding, he put in challenges, he put in the hard yards, but he also kept it simple. It wasn’t like he was doing crazy 60, 70-yard passes here and there, he just broke down their play, went hunting in packs, got the ball back, recycled it, and went about his business, and I thought he was class.”
Naylor was not the only person impressed with Doyle after the win over Everton – Molineux number two Dan Bentley branded him a ‘Baller’.
Doyle starting to look like great business by Wolves
We still haven’t seen a great deal from Doyle at Wolves, but the early signs are undoubtedly promising.
It’s tough for him because he’s got two brilliant midfielders ahead of him in the pecking order in Mario Lemina and Joao Gomes – but Doyle offers something different.
He’s blessed with the technical ability that is so common for young players to have, coming from the Manchester City academy.
The 22-year-old star, who can be bought for just under £5 million this summer, is someone who wants to get on the ball in deep positions and break lines with his passing range.
He isn’t as high-octane as Lemina or Gomes, but Gary O’Neil needs someone who can be calm on the ball and Doyle is certainly that.
Dave Edwards believes he could eventually become a key player for Wanderers, and he certainly has the potential to do so.