Rayan Aït Nouri

He's got an engine as good as any motor car! Wolverhampton's summer recruit blazed past Crystal Palace's defence to score his first goal for the club in October 2020. Modern football is making ever increasing demands on fullbacks to be to be chipping in with goals and assist, and Raya fits the bill to a tee!

Born on June 6th, 2001, in Montreuil, France, to parents of Algerian descent, his youth career started off at 8-years of age with AS Val de Fontenay. Continuing his progression he moved clubs to ASF Le Perreux 94, but his big break came a couple of years later in Paris FC. The defender moved to Angers SCO in 2016 to complete his development phase. The defender signed his first professional contract in February 2018 and made his first-team debut later that year against Paris Saint-Germain on August 25th. The blazing fullback managed to cement his position at left-back in Angers’ first-team but an injury and the premature conclusion of Ligue 1 due to the coronavirus pandemic saw his game time limited at 17 appearances. However, the Frenchman had already impressed scouts from all over Europe and it was evident that the teenager was emerging as one of French football’s premier talents. The off-season saw interest from a host of top clubs but Premier League outfit Wolverhampton Wanderers beat out competition to bring the French fullback to England. Raya scored and kept a clean sheet on his debut as Wolves beat Crystal Palace 2-0 on October 30th, 2020, showing the world a glimpse of his attacking prowess and considerable defensive nous. On the international scene Raya has represented France at U18 and U21 level but still remains eligible to represent Algeria.