Gary O’Neil showered praise on Rayan Ait-Nouri after Wolves’ 2-2 draw with Newcastle United last night.
Wanderers earned another point in the Premier League in what was a pulsating match at Molineux.
The heavy rain made the contest a very entertaining watch and in the end, a draw was perhaps a fair result.
That said, Wolves again got unlucky in parts.
Newcastle took the lead through Callum Wilson after some poor goalkeeping from Jose Sa.
But Mario Lemina scored a header from a Pedro Neto corner to get Wolves back in it.
Then, a very controversial penalty was awarded by referee Anthony Taylor for a foul by Hwang Hee-chan on Fabian Schar. Replays showed that the Newcastle man initiated the contact though.
Hwang atoned in the second-half, scoring a brilliant equaliser.
Wolves fans are awaiting an update on Neto, who worryingly went off on a stretcher with an apparent hamstring injury.
It was a great performance on the whole from Wolves against a tough side, and after the game, O’Neil spoke about Ait-Nouri…
Gary O’Neil says the sky is the limit for Wolves defender Rayan Ait-Nouri
After the game, O’Neil gave an interview with Sky Sports.
He was asked about Ait-Nouri, who has been heavily involved so far this season.
O’Neil admits the youngster is still unpolished, but it’s clear the manager sees a lot of potential there.
He said: “Love Rayan. He’s mad, firstly, and you can see he’s mad in the way he plays. We’re trying to take some of that out of him. First job was trying to get him through 90 minutes. We’ve improved his fitness levels.
“But he’s one you can improve. I don’t think he’s done too much work in understanding the tactical side of the game. He’s a great one to work with. He’s fully committed to everything. There’s a lot of room for improvement with the raw talent he has, if we can just harness it a little bit.
“If we can give him a little bit of understanding and calm down some of the craziness, the sky’s the limit for Rayan.”
Ait-Nouri in fine form
It was yet another really impressive display from Ait-Nouri last night against Newcastle.
You can completely understand why O’Neil really likes him.
£10 million signing Ait-Nouri is such a talent, especially going forward. Like a lot of players in this squad, he is a fantastic ball carrier.
As O’Neil says, it is just about harnessing the craziness with Ait-Nouri.
Sometimes he can overdo things, but that is perhaps to be expected given he is a young player.
You get the feeling that the longer he spends working with O’Neil, the more well-rounded he’ll become.