The Frenchman, who signed a five-year-deal with the option of a further 12 months, returns having caught the eye during the 2020/21 season on loan from Angers and becomes Bruno Lage’s third signing as Wolves head coach.
A memorable Molineux debut for Ait-Nouri set him up for a productive season in old gold, as his fine finish opened the scoring in a 2-0 victory over Crystal Palace back in October.
Read more: Talking Points | The return of Ait-Nouri
In his 23 games which followed, the 20-year-old displayed a hunger to get forward and provide an attacking threat, while continuing to develop defensively, both as a left-back and left-wing-back.
Ait-Nouri follows Yerson Mosquera and Francisco Trincao through the Molineux doors under Lage, and will remain part of the old gold set-up until 2026.
He Aït going anywhere!#RayanIsStayin'
— Wolves (@Wolves) July 9, 2021
🐺✍️ pic.twitter.com/KTYFfwCVbS
On the deal, technical director Scott Sellars said: “We think Rayan is a great signing for the football club. He proved last season that he’s a very talented player, with lots of potential – I thought he did well and kicked on towards the end of the season. He’s a player who is only going to get better, he’s a good boy, who works hard, and settled in well here.
“We’ve used the loan before buying approach well in the past, with people like Jonny and Raul [Jimenez]. I think it’s a great way for both parties to get to know each other, to see if they can adapt and enjoy English football, and we get a chance to have a look first, and see if a deal can be done.
“In Rayan’s case, he got a lot of minutes because both Jonny and Marcal suffered injury problems last season, so he had lots of games in the Premier League to show his quality.
“At his age, he’s got a lot to learn still, a lot of work on, and I’m sure with us he’ll develop. He has great quality going forward, we all remember his goal on his debut, so he’s got a lot going for him, as well as areas to develop, like all players.”
