The name Rayan Aït Nouri might not mean a lot to Manchester United or Wolverhampton fans, but rest assured, it’s a name you could start hearing a lot more of in the coming months.
Why? Because Jorge Mendes is the one looking after the 17-year-old left-back, and a move to the Premier League is already being talked about.
Already targeted by Manchester City a while back, the youngster was the subject of an €8m bid from Atlético Madrid in the summer, but Angers, instead of cashing in, decided to keep the youngster around to allow him to develop in an environment he knows with the first-team.
Making his Ligue 1 debut earlier in the season with an eight minute cameo at the end of a 3-1 loss to Paris Saint-Germain, the defender was revealed to the rest of the world, but he’s been in scouts’ notebooks for some time now.
While no move should take place in January, France Football claim the likes of Manchester United and Wolves, two names that recur very often when Jorge Mendes is involved, are ‘among the suitors’ for his services.
Quite frankly, these seem like some casual mentions for now, as tends to be the case for any youngster who has potential, but it’s definitely something we’ll be keeping an eye on during the second half of the season.
After all, José Mourinho does want a new left-back at the club, and if he can bring a young one in to play as back up to Luke Shaw, just like Diogo Dalot has done this season down the right, the 17-year-old represents the perfect project.
As for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, with Jonny probably returning to Atlético Madrid come the end of the season, Jorge Mendes could end up considering Molineux as the ideal place for some of his young clients to develop.
It worked rather well for a certain Ruben Neves, after all, and it’s not the first time Aït Nouri’s name has appeared next to Wolves’.
