Wolves journalist Tim Spiers has made a big claim over the future of loanee Rayan Ait-Nouri.
The 19-year-old was signed last summer on loan from French side SCO Angers, with Wolves holding a £20m option to make the deal permanent should they wish to trigger it. It’s been something of a strange season for the Frenchman as he has found himself in and out of the side and switching between having to play left-wing and left-back, but has settled somewhat by playing 90 minutes at left-back in their last two games.
And speaking on the latest edition of The Molineux View podcast (41:23), Spiers thinks that there is enough of a case to warrant making his deal permanent, but that given other factors within the squad, he would be hesitant in paying the full fee for his services:
“I think you’ve just got to judge on the fact that Vitinha is not playing, Ait-Nouri is. I think he’s doing well and he’s improving. I think given the injury situation, Jonny and Marcal are still going to be employed by the club and are expected to both play next season.
“So you don’t want to spend a lot money on a left-back, a left wing-back at all. I think he’s done enough to earn a move. But I wouldn’t want to be paying £20m. I think I’d want to pay a little less than that.”
Would you pay the £20m for Ait-Nouri?
No
Yes
TIF Thoughts on Tim Spiers’ comments about Rayan Ait-Nouri…
What this season has shown, with the best example being upfront for Wolves with them struggling to cope with losing their top two scorers from the last campaign, is that there is a strength and quality in depth issue at the club in some positions. And whilst left-back/left wing-back isn’t necessarily one now, it’s important to make sure it stays like that moving forward.
It all comes down to whether or not he’s likely to be starting. £20m for someone who will be a Premier League regular surely isn’t too bad a price to pay, but given their financial situation, you can make the argument that it’s too much to pay for someone who will mainly be a rotational player in the side.
In other news: ‘Kind of suspect’ – Journalist slams £18m-rated Wolves man who ‘abandons’ his duties