Wolves midfielder Joe Hodge has been praised for the impact he has made on his opportunities in the first team at Molineux.
The 20-year-old was being discussed by Talking Wolves presenter Dave Azzopardi, with the Premier League currently on a break for the World Cup.
Hodge made his senior debut at Stamford Bridge in Wolves’ 3-0 defeat at Chelsea in October and has made three further appearances since, according to Transfermarkt.
The Manchester-born midfielder had played under Steve Davis for the Under-23 side, and the youth coach’s promotion to interim manager gave the former Manchester City man the chance to showcase his talents in the senior side.
And Azzopardi has been delighted with Hodge’s performances on the occasions he has had the opportunity to make his mark on the Wolves side.
He said: “Joe Hodge was unfortunate with injuries last year, but since he’s come back to fitness, he’s been unbelievable.
“I know Tim Spiers joked about it on our end-of-season podcast last season because Joe Hodge had gone through a little decent run of form, but it shows how quickly he’s risen.
“And we saw in the Lopetegui behind-the-scenes first day video as well, obviously he said to Hodge how well he’d played the day before or a couple of nights before, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens with him.”
TIF Thoughts on Azzopardi’s comments…
We think that Azzopardi’s praise of Hodge is justified, with the midfielder being praised for playing his part in the side’s recent 1-0 Carabao Cup victory over Leeds United by former interim manager Davis.
The academy product earned himself a Sofascore rating of 6.8 for his performance against Jesse Marsch’s side, making four interceptions and two clearances as the side looked to remain strong in the centre of the park.
We are also fascinated to see what progress Hodge makes under the management of new manager Julen Lopetegui, with the Wolves head coach indeed marvelling at the performance of the young Irishman on his first day at the club (4:00).
Therefore, we think that the young midfielder will be eager to continue to impress the Spanish head coach, with the chance of being involved in a Premier League squad at stake.