Wolverhampton Wanderers’ loan move for 18-year-old Noha Lemina last month was a sign that Gary O’Neil wants to focus on giving the youth a chance.
With the Wanderers seemingly guaranteed to stay in the Premier League for another year, but too far away from the European spots, the remainder of the season could provide the perfect opportunity to start drafting in some youngsters.
Playing games at the start of a player’s professional career is imperative to their success, but there is one particular youngster that has caught the eye thanks to just that.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at the exciting prospect that the Wolves faithful are raving about and who could help ease the loss of Matheus Cunha.
Matheus Cunha’s season so far
There’s no two ways about it, Cunha has been absolutely immense this campaign, with the Brazilian living up to his £44m price tag.
The 24-year-old has scored nine Premier League goals this campaign while also acting as a source of creativity, providing six assists for his teammates.
His recent hatrick against Chelsea really cemented himself as one of the standout players of the season so far, with only six players having more goal contributions than the attacker.
However, Wolves’ recent 2-0 defeat to Brentford couldn’t have gone much worse, with the 20th-minute injury to Cunha being much more of a loss than the actual result. The former Atletico Madrid star is set to face a spell on the sidelines with a “significant hamstring injury.”
Nathan Fraser could be next up
Nathan Fraser is a name that all Wolves fans will know about, but he could just be the youngster to break through into the starting XI on a more regular basis, amid the news regarding Cunha’s potentially lengthy absence.
The 18-year-old centre-forward already has two senior goals and an assist to his name after scoring against Brentford in the FA Cup and Blackpool in the EFL Cup.
But in recent weeks, the Irish star has made his Premier League debut against Manchester United and featured heavily against the Bees at the weekend.
With Wolves a goal down and lacking firepower due to the injury of Cunha, O’Neil swapped centre-back Toti Gomes for Fraser at halftime, giving the youngster 51 minutes to work his magic.
Fraser vs Brentford
Stats
Fraser
Minutes
51
Goals
0
Shots
0
Pass accuracy
80%
Key passes
1
Possesion lost
4
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see, Fraser was unable to put the ball in the back of the net or have an attempt at goal, but his confidence and quality were clear to see.
His one key pass, high pass accuracy, and possession lost tally of just four prove that he’s a technical player who is comfortable with the ball at his feet, while his two out of five duels won still indicate he has to adapt to the men’s game.
Nevertheless, it was a promising afternoon for the striker, who has been described as “dangerous” by Irish analyst Mark Broomy, and his future looks extremely promising.
Is it time for O’Neil to trust Fraser with a start in the absence of Cunha? It could well be…