All of a sudden, Wolves appear to be in a very healthy position with regards to the left wing-back position.
At the moment, Rayan Ait-Nouri is the regular starter in the first-team.
The French youngster completed a permanent move to the club in the summer, after catching the eye during a loan spell in 2020/21.
He initially started the season on the bench, but eventually started to get games ahead of Fernando Marcal.
It is a good battle between the two but for the moment, Ait-Nouri is out-performing the Brazilian.
Potentially, he could be a regular in the position for a while. He is developing very well and showing a high level despite still being only 20.
But there are a couple of other players at Wolves who could also be options for the role in the coming years.
Ryan Giles is someone on Bruno Lage’s radar. The manager has challenged him to fight for a first-team place at Molineux ahead of next season once he’s back from his loan spell at Blackburn Rovers.
Lage recently told of his surprise at the pace of Giles’ progression.
There is also a third candidate who could potentially compete for the left wing-back role.
Hugo Bueno joined Wolves in 2019 and has been making good progress with the U23s.
The Spaniard last night put in a fantastic showing for James Collins’ side in the 2-0 win over Birmingham City. He laid on a late assist for youngster Nathan Fraser after a barnstorming run.
Wolves rate him highly, with the club handing him a new contract last summer.
In an interview with Scouted Football last year, Bueno stated that his role model is Alphonso Davies, which suggests exactly the kind of wing-back he is trying to become.
Left wing-back is in a very healthy spot for Wolves
Marcal’s contract expires at the end of the season. And there are no guarantees about Jonny Castro Otto when he gets back playing again.
But these things don’t really feel like worries given the talented youngsters on the books.
Quite possibly, Wolves could be set at left wing-back for years to come, if all three players continue on their current trajectories.