Wolverhampton Wanderers youngster Nigel Lonwijk has admitted he ‘didn’t have to think twice’ when the club came calling for him.
18-year-old Lonwijk joined Wolves in a £198,000 deal back in January last year, joining from PSV Eindhoven’s Under 19 set up, having worked his way up at the Dutch club since joining their U17’s in 2019.
He’s steadily impressed at Molineux since then, being promoted to their Under 23 side just in July 2020, mere months after his arrival at the club.
So far, he’s racked up 18 appearances for them as well as a further four in U18’s, and this season finds himself playing on loan at Fortuna Sittard.
He’s already made five appearances for them in the Eredivisie this season and, as a result, sat down with BD in the Netherlands to discuss his career and, in particular, Wolves.
“After that (a spell as a youngster at SV Reeshof), I did an internship at Willem II, but just at that moment, they stopped with the E’tjes and F’jes,” he told the website.
“So when Wolves showed interest, I didn’t have to think twice.”
So far, Lonwijk is yet to make an appearance for the Wolves first-team but has been a regular for their youth set-up since his arrival.
His lack of appearances should not be taken at face value, though, with him having been a regular in first-team training over the last 18 months.
Indeed, he’s also found himself on the substitutes bench with the first-team squad, featuring in the match day squads for clashes with Everton, Crystal Palace and Leicester City last season.
That’s a major achievement for a player who will only be 19 in a week’s time and something he sees plenty of positives from.
“That shows that they have faith in me,” he added.
“I had been training for a while, so maybe I felt that first time coming. But it was a great moment when manager Nuno Espirito Santo told me.
“Even though I was sitting on the bench, I was amazed. The tempo is so high; the players are so complete.”
