Rayan Ait-Nouri’s sensational season at Wolves has drawn interest from some of Europe’s elite as Liverpool emerge as favourites to sign him in the summer.
Wolves hired Gary O’Neil in the summer perhaps expecting to be fighting towards the bottom of the Premier League table.
After all, the 40-year-old arrived at the club just days before the season kicked off and was given zero chance of becoming a success at Molineux.
The Wanderers were going through a period of turmoil as they sold their best players, watched Julen Lopetegui walk out of the job and hardly strengthened in the window.
Fast forward seven months and O’Neil is in the frame for winning Manager of the Season after guiding Wolves into European contention and leading them to an FA Cup quarter-final.
Such success has been complemented by improving the fortunes of several players. The biggest of those improvements has seen Matheus Cunha revolutionised while Rayan Ait-Nouri isn’t far behind.
Rayan Ait-Nouri is integral to Wolves
In the 2-1 victory over Fulham last weekend, Ait-Nouri showcased his ability to cover a variety of positions as O’Neil was struck down with more injuries to attacking players.
The Algerian was shuffled into more attacking areas centrally, popping up in an attacking midfield and forward position.
Despite normally playing as a left wing-back, O’Neil described his impact as “incredible” and claimed he could play anywhere on the pitch.
Ait-Nouri’s transformation under the Wolves boss has been simply stunning, and the 22-year-old continues to improve with each passing week.
It should therefore come as no surprise that when compared to other wing backs across Europe, the £10k-a-week star ranks in the top 1% for successful take-ons and the top 10% for non-penalty xG, via FBref.
Sadly, posting such metrics and producing such stunning form does come at a cost with Liverpool now “most determined” to sign Ait-Nouri in the summer after being linked in January.
Liverpool want Ait-Nouri to complement Virgil van Dijk
According to La Gazette Du Fennec, as relayed by Sport Witness, Liverpool are the ‘most serious’ candidate to sign Ait-Nouri following links to other Premier League clubs.
The report claims that Liverpool want a “real left-back” to complement Virgil van Dijk and although he is leaving at the end of the season, Jurgen Klopp has validated his profile with the Reds management.
Van Dijk, who they signed from Southampton for £75 million in 2017, has played with Andy Robertson across his career at Anfield, but now they see Ait-Nouri as someone who could play that attacking left-back role.
Liverpool play a four-at-the-back system, but the talented Algerian has flourished as a wing-back under O’Neil, although he has proven he can play as a left-back as he ranks in the top 16% for tackles across Europe’s top five leagues.
With Wolves expecting to lose Pedro Neto in the summer, selling Ait-Nouri could actually do more damage to the Wanderers given the versatility he provides.
Supporters, however, will be hoping he remains at Molineux for years to come, especially after the campaign he’s had.