Gary O’Neil has challenged Wolves midfielder Tommy Doyle to become as good as one ‘intelligent’ Arsenal star.
To the delight of most supporters, Wolves announced the permanent £4.3 million signing of Tommy Doyle from Manchester City on a four-year contract.
The England under-21 international has flourished in the heart of Gary O’Neil’s engine room, complementing the energy and tenacity of Joao Gomes and Mario Lemina with his superb passing range.
Doyle has wowed the Molineux faithful by executing difficult passes and keeping the Wolves midfield ticking over.
Paul Robinson previously praised his passing as ‘quality’ in the 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa in March and the 22-year-old also ranks behind only Trent Alexander-Arnold and Rodri for most accurate long passes per 90.
Yet, O’Neil has still challenged Doyle to reach the levels of one Arsenal star known for his ball progression.
Gary O’Neil challenges Tommy Doyle to reach the level of Jorginho
Mikel Arteta often deploys midfield anchor Jorginho in the big games.
The former Ballon d’Or nominee makes light work of dictating a match at the base of midfield. He’s so good at controlling the game at his pace and his passing range is world-class.
In his pre-match interview ahead of tomorrow night’s clash against Manchester City, O’Neil has challenged Doyle to reach the Italian’s level in possession.
Noting that passing is the Englishman’s obvious strength, he said: “His obvious strength is with the ball. He always gives us something with the ball with his range of passing. I think we can still that better for him, if that is going to be his strength.”
“If you look at Jorginho at Arsenal, where his strengths are purely with the ball, he’s excellent, super intelligent, but you’d say his use of the ball is still on a different level to Tommy’s. We need to get him to a point where he always impacts the game with his use of the ball.”
Lauding Jorginho as “super-intelligent” for how he effortlessly strolls around the pitch, it could take years for Doyle to become as impactful as the Italian, but his quality suggests he is capable.
Tommy Doyle can become Wolves’ midfield dictator
O’Neil doesn’t have anyone else in his midfield who can spray the ball across the pitch and pierce defences with his passing range.
In comparison to the robust and tenacious trio of Boubacar Traore, Lemina and Gomes, Doyle is of a different ilk to those individuals, as he’s best at distributing the ball, short or long.
He’s most effective in games where Wolves have most of the ball, but when the Old Gold are required to defend, his positional awareness and physical attributes aren’t on the same level as his passing.
If he continue improving his passing, there is no reason why the 22-year-old won’t become a midfield dictator, just like Jorginho is for Arsenal.