Rayan Ait-Nouri was on the scoresheet again for Wolves at the weekend, this time against Bristol City in the FA Cup.
The Algeria international gave the visitors the lead at Ashton Gate, turning in a Joao Gomes cross at the back post with a diving header.
Wolves won the game 2-1 and should probably have enjoyed a more comfortable victory. Vitor Pereira’s side spurned a number of great chances, and needlessly let Bristol City back into the game just before half-time by conceding a free-kick on the edge of the box.
But they’re through to the fourth round, and Wolves will now meet Blackburn Rovers.
It was another good outing for Ait-Nouri for Wolves, who is really putting up some very impressive numbers in an attacking sense.
Rayan Ait-Nouri has most goal involvements of any PL defender
Ait-Nouri is a wing-back so technically a defender. But he has always been very attack-minded.
The 23-year-old loves nothing more than to venture forward to try and help out in the final third, and he is arguably much more suited to playing as a wing-back than a left-back.
Ait-Nouri just needs that license to go forward, because he does make things happen.
And he’s been making things happen quite a lot this season, with one impressive statistic now emerging.
As per Squawka, Ait-Nouri currently has the highest amount of combined goals and assists of any Premier League defender across all competitions.
He has nine so far, which puts him ahead of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Antonee Robinson and Pedro Porro, who are arguably three of the best attacking full-backs in the top-flight.
- READ MORE: Something extremely rare happened in Wolves win over Bristol City – it left Joao Gomes amused
Ait-Nouri will be world-class when he becomes more consistent defensively
2024/25 hasn’t actually been a top season for Ait-Nouri and yet, he finds himself ahead of players like Alexander-Arnold for combined goals and assists.
He is well on the way to becoming a top player in his position in the world – but most Wolves fans would agree that he still needs to improve defensively.
| Rayan Ait-Nouri for Wolves (2020-present) |
| Appearances – 137 |
| Goals – 11 |
| Assists – 13 |
He had horror shows earlier in the season, such as against Chelsea.
Positionally Ait-Nouri can sometimes still struggle.
But fans would like to hope that new manager Pereira will be able to improve this aspect of his game – so far, the Portuguese has generally helped Wolves to become more solid as a collective.
Pereira said Ait-Nouri has quality and one gets the sense he could really kick on under the new boss.