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Wolves don’t want to sell ‘extremely talented’ player to Chelsea

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Wolverhampton Wanderers have no interest in selling one of their players to Chelsea or any other club in January.

With Wolves really struggling in the Premier League right now, a move to Chelsea may appeal to someone like Rayan Ait-Nouri or Matheus Cunha.

Cunha helped Wolves to beat Fulham last time out, scoring a brace in their 4-1 win, and is now being linked to some big clubs.

Ait-Nouri is also thought to be attracting interest. Earlier this month, it was reported that Chelsea are keen on Ait-Nouri.

Wolverhampton Wanderers FC v Southampton FC - Premier League
Photo by Jack Thomas – WWFC/Wolves via Getty Images

Wolves’ Rayan Ait-Nouri stance

Chelsea could struggle to sign Ait-Nouri in the January transfer window, with Wolves, understandably, wanting to keep hold of him as they look to avoid relegation.

According to the Daily Briefing, while Chelsea and Manchester United are both interested in Ait-Nouri, Wolves’ current stance is they do not want to sell the left-back.

Left-back has been a problem position for United, largely because of Luke Shaw’s injury problems, but Chelsea are fine there.

Enzo Maresca has Marc Cucurella, who is doing a great job at left-back, and Renato Veiga. Ben Chilwell is also still at the club. Jason Cundy recently hailed Cucurella as “excellent” after his performance in a 1-1 draw with Arsenal.

As for Ait-Nouri, his manager Gary O’Neil has described him as an “extremely talented” player, as per the Express & Star.

How do Rayan Ait-Nouri and Marc Cucurella compare?

If Chelsea do sign Ait-Nouri, then the 23-year-old would be coming in to compete against Cucurella for a spot in the team.

Ousting the Spaniard out of the starting XI will not be easy, though. He is now one of the best left-backs in the Premier League.

In some defensive areas, Ait-Nouri has recorded higher numbers than Cucurella this season. Of course, the Algeria international plays in a team that has to do much more defending than Chelsea, while he has also played more minutes than Cucurella.

PlayerGamesMinutes playedTacklesInterceptionsBlocks
Rayan Ait-Nouri121012251115
Marc Cucurella11828171114

All in all, Ait-Nouri probably could be a good alternative to Cucurella. But having signed Veiga during the summer and with Chilwell still at Chelsea, signing him may not be necessary.