Gary O’Neil has teased that fans can expect to see another player making his debut for the Wolves first-team soon.
This season we have seen a number of youngsters be handed their first opportunities in old gold.
Nathan Fraser was given his debut earlier in the season, as was Tawanda Chirewa, and most recently Leon Chiwome was given his bow in the FA Cup against Coventry City.
There is a clear pathway at Wolves for young players to get first-team minutes. Especially right now, with several key players out injured and the squad being quite small.
One man who has yet to feature for the first-team though is Noha Lemina, who signed for the club in January on loan from Paris Saint-Germain.
But O’Neil has now suggested it will not be long before the electric teenager gets his chance…
Gary O’Neil hints Noha Lemina will be getting his Wolves debut soon
Yesterday, O’Neil took questions from reporters ahead of tonight’s game with Burnley.
The Wolves boss delivered some good news ahead of the game, with Matheus Cunha ‘definitely’ returning to the matchday squad, after recovering from a ‘significant’ hamstring injury.
The Brazilian likely won’t start, although he has been banging O’Neil’s door down recently to play and clearly feels very ready to play again.
His return will be huge for Wolves. But there is another forward player who could soon have an impact for Wolves in the form of Noha Lemina.
Noha has yet to make his debut, but has been on the bench several times. O’Neil was asked if he could play soon, and he said (via journalist Tom Gibson): “He is in and around the squad but ahead of when he should be. He wasn’t signed initially for him to be thrust into Premier League squads, it was more for development to get him up to speed. I’m sure we’ll see him, it’s just picking the right moment that suits him.”
An encouraging update
So it sounds as though Wolves fans will be getting to see Noha in action fairly soon.
He’s been on the bench a few times now, and has been with the first-team in training since he arrived from PSG.
His older brother Mario Lemina recently stated that he had improved a lot since his first week at the club, and you would imagine his debut won’t be far off.
When he first signed, O’Neil said that Noha was ‘an exciting young talent’ and since those comments, fans have been waiting patiently to see him. It would be great to get a look at him, although O’Neil may not use him too much while there is the possibility of European football. If he has his experienced players available then he will obviously turn to them more.