Rayan Ait-Nouri did not make Wolves’ matchday squad to face Leeds United yesterday – and it is now a huge moment for him.
Wanderers fell to a 4-2 defeat at Molineux.
Julen Lopetegui’s side are bang in trouble after losing to a relegation rival.
Wolves were poor in both boxes yesterday, and were not helped by the level of officiating.
Nelson Semedo should have had a penalty when Junior Firpo brought him down in the area.
And Leeds’ fourth goal should not have stood as there was a shirt pull on Adama Traore in the build up.
The team have been stung too many times in recent weeks but frustratingly, they are just not playing well enough for these things not to matter.
One decision referee Michael Salisbury did (eventually) get right yesterday was the card for Jonny.
The Spaniard could have seriously injured Luke Ayling and was correctly dismissed.
Lopetegui now has two left-backs unavailable, with Hugo Bueno still out injured.
That means it’s a big moment for Ait-Nouri, who actually missed out altogether yesterday. It was only the second time that has happened this season.
Back in October, he missed out against Crystal Palace, but only because he was ill.
Surely Ait-Nouri starts the next game – and he has to make the opportunity count.
A golden chance for Rayan Ait-Nouri to convince Julen Lopetegui of his worth, after missing matchday squad vs Leeds
It was very interesting to see Ait-Nouri miss out on yesterday’s squad.
He came on as a substitute against Newcastle United, and was caught way out position for the Magpies’ winning goal.
Perhaps Lopetegui was sending him a message to knuckle down.
Ait-Nouri has been unable to convince Lopetegui of his worth so far, it has seemed.
The £10 million youngster was great in December and actually won Player of the Month for his contributions coming off the bench.
But starts have still been hard to come by for the Algerian.
It was very telling that Jonny has been selected over him for the past three games.
It suggests he has a lot of work to do. But he surely should now get a chance to start and send a message to Lopetegui.