Enobakhare Shining Bright

(Credit: https://twitter.com/BEnobakhare/status/893141542738817024)

With the arrival of several highly rated and expensive imports at Wolves this summer, many fans would be forgiven for forgetting about the talent that was already at the club.

The likes of Conor Ronan, Morgan Gibbs-White and Harry Burgoyne had all made the step up to the first team from the academy during the 2016/17 campaign but many thought they were going to be pushed aside when Wolves brought in Ruben Neves, Diogo Jota and more.

This however, has not been the case and several the academy graduates have featured in manager Nuno Espirito Santo’s plans.

The standout academy graduate thus far has to be Nigerian forward Bright Enobakhare, who had featured for the first team under previous managers Paul Lambert and Kenny Jackett, but had struggled to get most of the Molineux faithful believing in him.

The 19-year-old has started this season in fantastic form and now all corners of the fanbase are singing his praises.

Enobakhare burst onto the first team picture impressively back in 2015, scoring in pre-season friendlies against Chambly and Doncaster Rovers and then on his first competitive start for the club, against Barnet.

The forward was then used sparingly by Kenny Jackett, ignored completely by his successor Walter Zenga but was recalled to the first team squad when Paul Lambert took over as manager of Wolves in November 2016.

Under Lambert, Enobakhare showed glimpses that Wolves had a player on their hands. His first touch and close control often had Wolves fans purring with appreciation but time and time again his end product would let him down.

When current manager Nuno Espirito Santo arrived from FC Porto in the summer, hardly anybody would have selected Enobakhare to be a part of their starting eleven, but Nuno showed faith in the youngster and has started him in every league game this far.

Utilising him in the right-inside forward role has got the best out of him. Constantly causing opposition defenders problems with his pace and trickery, Enobakhare has created some key chances in Wolves opening four games, none more so than his assist for Jota in the game against Hull City.

The deployment of Matt Doherty at right wing-back also means the Nigerian can drift inside and create more problems. He looks like he was made to play this position, more so than as a striker where Jackett played him or as a number ten where Lambert selected him.

The close control and dribbling technique Enobakhare possesses draws defenders in, either causing them to foul him or making it easier for him to beat them and continue driving forward. Then when he gets into dangerous positions his end product has improved massively, although still not perfect.

(Credit: http://www.zimbio.com/Bright+Enobakhare)

Nuno should take some of the credit for his fantastic start to the season. Showing faith in some of such a young age must give them a huge confidence boost and his man management style clearly works better for Enobakhare than any of his predecessors.

The show of faith has caused the Wolves fans to also be more supportive of the player, which will only boost his confidence even further.

While the 19-year-old still isn’t the finished product, it’s clear to see that Wolves have a talent on their hands. This is something that is now being recognised outside of Wolverhampton, having been named in numerous teams of the week.

Not many, if any, Wolves fans would have had Enobakhare in their strongest teams before the season began but if he keeps up his form and his performance levels, it’ll be hard for Nuno to leave him out.

That is a huge IF though, consistency is key, but Bright Enobakhare may have a big part to play in Wolves’ promotion charge.