Gary O’Neil: Wolves have really missed the £10m star who’s ‘one of the best’ at one thing…

Wolves managed to pick up four points last week in the Premier League, but there is a feeling for some that it should have been more.

 

Wanderers had two games at Molineux, against Burnley and then Nottingham Forest.

Wolves managed to edge out Burnley, winning 1-0 courtesy of yet another Hwang Hee-chan goal at home.

But then on Saturday, points were dropped against Forest after a poor performance.

Four points isn’t too bad, but some feel this was a golden opportunity for six and the level of performance in both was pretty poor.

Pedro Neto is a big miss for Wolves, of course, but there is another player whose absence has really been felt recently…

Wolves are missing Rayan Ait-Nouri just as much as Pedro Neto

 

Fulham FC v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Premier League

Ait-Nouri looked to roll his ankle against the Cottagers. He tried to play on, but was forced to withdraw shortly after sustaining the injury.

He shouldn’t be out for too much longer, though, which is a relief because the Wolves have missed him.

Simply put, Ait-Nouri has been one of the best performers this season in a Wolves shirt. The Algeria international has come back into the starting XI after being frozen out by former manager Julen Lopetegui and has been a wonderful outlet for Wolves on that left side.

The £10 million star has been especially good since O’Neil started using wing-backs, which is a role Ait-Nouri has admitted he prefers.

Hugo Bueno has come in as Ait-Nouri’s replacement and, to be honest, the Spaniard has struggled a bit.

Bueno is a very exciting young talent, but he hasn’t long been back from injury himself and he just appears to be slightly off the pace at the moment.

Last season, he was swashbuckling. This term, he has played much more conservatively, with Nelson Semedo getting forward on the other side much more often.

Ait-Nouri is extremely attack-minded and had been a really good outlet for the Wolves on that left side and that has been missing for the last few games. He just has that drive to get forward and is a brilliant ball carrier, with Dan Bentley even admitting recently that he is actually ‘one of the best dribblers I’ve ever seen’.

Former Molineux midfielder Dave Edwards said recently that Ait-Nouri had become a’massive force’ for Wolves on that left side, and his absence can definitely be felt at the moment.

Saturday’s game with Forest was the third in a row that Wolves have played without Rayan Ait-Nouri, who got injured in the early stages of the 3-2 defeat to Fulham at the end of November.

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