Rayan Ait-Nouri has been one of several success stories this season at Wolves – and a new report has shed some light on why he is now thriving.
Ait-Nouri made headlines again last night, as he scored the equalising goal for Wolves in their 1-1 draw with Burnley at Turf Moor.
The Algeria international struck on the stroke of half-time, heading in Pablo Sarabia‘s free-kick, which he had earned himself a little fortuitously.
Ait-Nouri might have scored a second in the second-half, but his finishing let him down on that occasion. Leon Chiwome was also in a great position and perhaps should have been found with a square ball.
But it was just another fine display, from a player who is starting to emerge as one of Wolves’ very best players.
It has been a magnificent turnaround for the 22-year-old, who was frozen out by Julen Lopetegui towards the end of last season.
Rayan Ait-Nouri did ‘extra conditioning’ at Wolves earlier this season which has been key to his improvement
A lot more responsibility has fallen onto Ait-Nouri in recent weeks.
Gary O’Neil lost his attacking trio of Matheus Cunha, Hwang Hee-chan and Pedro Neto, and that had a big impact on the team in the final third.
Ait-Nouri has always been a player who has liked to attack, despite being a full-back/wing-back.
In recent games, Ait-Nouri has been playing higher up and taking advantage of his attacking qualities, and he’s now in superb form, scoring three goals in his last four games.
He probably should have had two more goals. But he’s definitely stepped up and one of the reasons he’s been able to do that is because he is now much fitter.
The Athletic have reported today that Ait-Nouri had been doing ‘extra conditioning work carried out in the early weeks of the season’, which is now paying off.
O’Neil had previously expressed his concerns about Ait-Nouri’s fitness.
But just recently, with the exception of maybe the defeat to Aston Villa, he’s looked full of energy.
Ait-Nouri is becoming a key player for Wolves
Ait-Nouri’s turnaround at Wolves has been brilliant to watch.
At one point, it looked like he might have been on his way out of Molineux, after missing so many squads under Lopetegui.
But O’Neil has come in and seen something in him, put his arm around his shoulder and got him playing his best football since arriving from Angers.
O’Neil hailed Ait-Nouri after last night’s draw with Burnley, alluding to him having worked really hard on the training ground. He therefore deserves a lot of credit for what he is doing.
The exciting thing is, he still has so much developing to do. After Neto, he is probably the Wolves player with the highest ceiling.
With each passing game, it looks like he could enjoy a similar journey to what Gareth Bale did. Just in terms of going from a full-back to a winger with serious quality. Obviously, Bale was an incredible player and athlete, and Ait-Nouri likely won’t be scoring or assisting as many goals as the Welshman did.
But there is world-class potential here, no doubt about it. And hopefully, Wolves can keep hold of him for as long as possible.