Rayan Ait-Nouri is one of Wolves’ most talented players but there is one frustrating habit he must cut out to reach the next level.
Wolves finally got off the mark in the Premier League, recording a 2-0 win over Southampton to somewhat relieve Gary O’Neil of some pressure.
Matheus Cunha was at the heart of their victory, with the Brazilian serving up a sublime assist for Pablo Sarabia before sending a pearler of a strike past Aaron Ramsdale in the second half.
Cunha’s involvement was a reminder of how important he is in the fight for survival, and he isn’t the only talent O’Neil is reliant on, with Rayan Ait-Nouri an invaluable source of quality down the left.
The Algerian has produced three goals and two assists in 11 top-flight appearances this term either as a left-back or wing-back however, there is still more to come from Ait-Nouri.
How Rayan Ait-Nouri can reach the next level at Wolves
Ait-Nouri is unquestionably one of the best wing-backs in the Premier League and the returns speak volumes of his talent.
That said, at the age of 23, there are still parts of his game that can improve, with Wolves expert Liam Keen left frustrated by how easily he gifts possession away.
There were times in the win over Southampton where instead of opting for the easy pass, Ait-Nouri would take a risk in the wrong area of the pitch and instead gift possession away 12 times.
Speaking on the Keen & Judah show, Keen highlights this as one issue in the Algerian’s game while he also doesn’t feel he’s making the most of playing as a wing-back at the moment.
“What he’s doing at the moment, because he does take a lot of chances, because he is quite brave and quite courageous and a little bit carefree, which again can be a great thing.
“But it can also play against you at the same time. Because he is all of those things, he takes chances, he takes risks.
“When it pays off it can be brilliant, but at the moment he’s giving the ball away far too cheaply. He’s turning into trouble when there’s a five to 10-yard pass on and he’s trying to take a player on, then take that player on again. Then turn inside and take him and his mate on.
“There’s an opportunity to play the ball, play an easy pass. You’d want players to take risks and take chances at the right times, he’s doing it at totally the wrong time at the moment and giving the ball away far too cheaply.
“He needs to retain possession, do the simple things and get himself into dangerous areas. He’s not really making the most of being a wing-back at the moment.”
Ait-Nouri’s incredible Wolves statistics
Ait-Nouri has recently attracted transfer interest from Liverpool however, for him to potentially succeed Andy Robertson at Anfield, he must cut out the above simple mistakes.
If he can do that, the attacking metrics indicate that he could become one of Europe’s best wing-backs, as he’s already performing to that level in attack.
As highlighted by FBref, Ait-Nouri has ranked in the top 3% of wing-backs in the past year for non-penalty goals, the top 1% for successful take-ons, and the top 17% for touches (Att Pen).
| Rayan Ait-Nouri stats per 90 (past year) | Statistic | Percentile rank vs wing-backs in Europe |
| Non-penalty goals | 0.18 | Top 3% |
| Non-penalty xG | 0.12 | Top 6% |
| Shots total | 1.13 | Top 12% |
| Pass completion | 84.3% | Top 16% |
| Successful take-ons | 2.37 | Top 1% |
| Touches (Att Pen) | 2.15 | Top 17% |
Statistically comparable to world-class talents Jeremie Frimpong and Theo Hernandez, the former Angers talent is a very exciting player to watch; he just needs to prove that narrative consistently.