Rayan Ait-Nouri has explained why he chose to join Wolves in 2020, revealing Nuno Espirito Santo played a key role in his decision to come.

The Algeria international has given an interview with DZ Foot, and spoke about when he first came to England.

Ait-Nouri joined Wolves on loan initially, from French club Angers. Wolves had an option to buy Ait-Nouri the following summer.

After impressing in 2020/21, the club decided to trigger that buy option, which was worth around £10 million.

It has been a promising stint so far for Ait-Nouri at Wolves. He lost his way a little under Julen Lopetegui last season. But he has absolutely thrived since Gary O’Neil came in at the start of the current campaign, appearing in all 13 of Wolves’ games so far this season and starting the majority.

Ait-Nouri signed for Wolves despite interest from other big teams, and he has now shared some of the reasons for his decision…

Rayan Ait-Nouri says Premier League lure was strong and discusses role Nuno Espirito Santo played in him coming to Wolves

Ait-Nouri reportedly had interest from the likes Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, before making his move to Molineux.

Thankfully, he was ultimately not tempted by these European giants.

It turns out that the idea of playing Premier League football was too good an opportunity to pass up. Ait-Nouri has also cited the influence of former manager Nuno Espirito Santo as a big factor in his decision to join the club, sharing that he gave him some guarantees over game time.

He said: “I saw myself in England. Wolverhampton is a club with a lot of ambition. There have always been good players here, and it was a dream for me, since I was a kid, to play in the Premier League. When I arrived here, I immediately told myself that I had done the right thing by coming here! Mentally and physically, I’ve improved a lot, even if there haven’t been all good moments.

“Before joining Wolves, I spoke with the coach, who was Nuno Espirito Santo. He explained the project to me, what he expected from me, and he gave me some guarantees in terms of playing time even though I knew it was up to me to make my place.

“I let myself be seduced by the project. At the time, the club was playing a leading role in England and had just qualified for the Europa League twice in a row. That’s what motivated me, and I don’t regret that choice.”

Wolves have a gem on their hands with Ait-Nouri

Ait-Nouri choosing to sign for Wolves when he might have gone to Barcelona or PSG is great to hear.

There is so much potential with the club and the 22-year-old is right – there is a lot of ambition and there have been good players at Molineux for some time now.

Ait-Nouri has been really good so far this season. He deserves credit for the way he has turned things around after struggling a bit under Lopetegui.

The Spaniard did not seem to rate him at all. But O’Neil has shown faith in him and his performances have been very good on the whole.

Ait-Nouri is a player with very exciting potential. He’s an excellent ball carrier and provides a good attacking threat. If he can just bring the defensive side of his game up to scratch then Wolves will have a serious player on their hands.

To be fair to him, he has definitely improved defensively since O’Neil – who recently said the sky is the limit for the youngster – came in