Wolverhampton Wanderers slumped to another Premier League defeat over the weekend, this time dropping points to West Ham United.
Gary O’Neil will have been aggrieved Max Kilman had an injury-time equaliser disallowed in extremely contentious fashion which would have salvaged a point, but the damage had already been done.
Pablo Sarabia opened the scoring, but the Irons netted twice in the final 13 minutes to take all three points. Despite this, there were some positive performances among the starting XI.
Rayan Ait-Nouri was unleashed in an unfamiliar attacking midfield slot in what was a surprising move by O’Neil, but the youngster shone for the Old Gold, even if he did leave the field through injury.
Rayan Ait-Nouri’s game in numbers vs West Ham
With the Old Gold still missing a few key players, O’Neil deployed Ait-Nouri alongside Tommy Doyle as the two attacking midfielders behind Sarabia, who was unleashed in a more advanced role.
The Algeria international provided a key attacking threat throughout the match, succeeding with four of his eight dribble attempts, taking two shots and also winning the penalty for the opening goal.
Accurate passes
29/29
Touches
48
Total shots
2
Ground duels (won)
17 (8)
Dribble attempts (successful)
8 (4)
Ait-Nouri even had a 100% pass success rate during his time on the pitch, displaying his wonderful passing range along with winning eight ground duels and being fouled three times.
The youngster had to be taken off after just 56 minutes due to suffering a calf injury and O’Neil will be hoping the injury isn’t too serious, especially with this display proving he is certainly undroppable.
Rayan Ait-Nouri’s statistics for Wolves this season
Although he was used as an attacking midfielder over the weekend, Ait-Nouri has typically been deployed on the left of a four-man midfield in recent months, allowing him to express his creative talents.
Indeed, across 27 Premier League matches, he has scored twice and grabbed an assist, while creating two big chances and averaging 0.8 key passes per game. The defender has also succeeded with two dribbles per game, showcasing his desire to always take on opposition players in a need to get into the final third.
Defensively, Ait-Nouri has won a staggering 6.4 total duels per game, made two tackles per match and is dribbled past on just 0.6 occasions per outing, indicating that his defensive skills are also excellent.
He is swiftly emerging as one of O’Neil’s prized assets following a series of excellent performances, and it is perhaps no surprise to see other clubs being linked with a move for him this summer.
Chelsea are just one side who are reportedly showing some interest in the 22-year-old ahead of the summer transfer window.
If his injury isn’t serious, and he can return to the first team within the next couple of weeks, it will give the player an ideal opportunity to further demonstrate his talents in the top flight.
With two years left on his current contract, the Molineux outfit could potentially secure a major profit on the player who they signed for just £9.5m back in 2021 following a successful loan spell at the Old Gold.