Rayan Ait Nouri to Man City: Wolves Wing-Back Is Technically Excellent and a Good Fit for Pep Guardiola’s Game
====================================================================
Manchester City’s reported interest in Wolves wing-back Rayan Ait Nouri comes as no surprise, given his impressive skills on the pitch. As Sky Sports reports, Ait Nouri has taken a step forward this season, starting 37 out of Wolves’ 38 Premier League games and adding end product to his game with four goals and six assists from open play.
Ait Nouri’s talent has long been obvious since he first arrived in the Premier League from French club Angers in the summer of 2020. As Sky Sports notes, he always catches the eye with his particular penchant for stepovers and drag backs, ever keen to feel the ball at his feet. In fact, Ait Nouri ranks eighth in the Premier League for successful dribbles, with 63 such take-ons, which is unusual for a player ostensibly operating as part of a back five for much of the campaign.
Wolves’ former assistant manager Edu Rubio has praised Ait Nouri’s technical ability, telling Sky Sports that “he is very good at one-on-one defending.” Rubio also notes that Ait Nouri has demonstrated that “he is able to interchange positions” and it is this quality that sets him apart from some of the other attacking left-backs earning praise.
Ait Nouri has shown this past season that he can do that at both ends of the pitch. He is the only nominal defender in the Premier League to rank among the top 25 players when it comes to winning the ball in the defensive third and the attacking third of the pitch. As Sky Sports reports, the expectation is that a move to City would see Ait Nouri have more touches of the ball in possession, while the number of defensive actions required of him would dip.
Positionally, the role of a City full-back actually requires more work in the opposition half than that of a Wolves wing-back. Rubio believes that Ait Nouri’s technical skill is what makes him an interesting player for teams that like to be the main actor in possession. “In teams that build from the back and revolve everything around possession-based football, your full-backs would also be asked to invert and he can definitely deal with anything inside because of his technical ability,” Rubio tells Sky Sports.
Compared to other attacking left-backs, Ait Nouri is a different kind of player. Fulham’s Antonee Robinson and Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez are more straight-line players, whereas Ait Nouri has the ability to move inside to support the build-up. As Sky Sports notes, Guardiola is likely to be attracted to the player who can craft openings when the space is more limited.
Rubio expects Manchester City to be back winning trophies next season, regardless. But the acquisition of the classy Ait Nouri, a Guardiola player in waiting, would only help make that more likely. “I am certain he would do very well if he went there,” Rubio tells Sky Sports.
From next season, Sky Sports‘ Premier League coverage will increase from 128 matches to at least 215 games exclusively live. And 80 per cent of all televised Premier League games next season are on Sky Sports.
The summer transfer window will open again on Monday June 16 until Monday September 1 – with the deadline brought forward to 7pm this year. Use the Sky Sports app and website for all your updates in our dedicated Transfer Centre and Premier League club blogs, plus live Q&As with our reporters throughout the summer.
Watch more Premier League matches on Sky Sports than ever before with 215 games live from the 2025/26 Premier League season.
The first of two summer transfer windows is upon us – and there is no better place than Sky Sports to get all the latest transfer news and rumours. The Transfer Show returns to Sky Sports News from Sunday June 1 for the start of the pre-Club World Cup window and will then be on every weeknight at 5pm and 7pm until the deadline on Tuesday June 10.
Source link
