Sporting director Matt Hobbs believes the return of Matt Doherty will raise standards in the Wolves dressing room, both on and off the pitch, given his history with the football club.
The Irishman has returned to Compton Park three years after his departure and comes in to provide a fresh option in the full-back area, but also share his experience of the club and Premier League with his colleagues, many of whom are different from his first stint.
A member of the club’s 300 Club, which was unveiled in April, Doherty previously spent ten years at Wolves, celebrating two promotions and playing a key role in establishing the club back in the Premier League.
Now, after spells with Tottenham Hotspur and Atletico Madrid, he returns for chapter two in old gold, and Hobbs believes he returns hungry to get back playing and help the club move forward.
On bringing Doherty back to the club
“Matt’s come back to add some strength in depth to the full-back area, providing competition and making us better in those positions. He knows the club and what it means to play here – he’s been successful here and knows what the fans want. For us, it’s another homegrown player, but one who can share his knowledge and required standards across the group.
“Conversations have been really straightforward. I bumped into him on the golf course, and we had a brief conversation. I also spoke to his agent, and he’s been really keen. It’s been very quick, very simple. He’s shown he’s wanted to come back from the start, and it feels an opportunity to him.
“After Spurs and Atletico Madrid, he’s still got a lot to prove, and I think he wants to show people he’s still the player he was before. I had direct conversations with Doc himself and we’re really happy he’s back. It’s one the manager wanted when he knew he was available.”
On Lopetegui being keen on the transfer
“I put it in to Julen and also the recruitment guys as a possibility after we spoke. Everyone knows our financial situation at the moment, meaning getting him on a free really worked for us, but it only really worked because it’s a player the manager wants. Doc was one of the players Julen was looking forward to working with the first time he nearly joined, and he has updated himself on his games for Ireland, Spurs and Atletico. He was really positive and wanted to get it done asap.”
On experience and Premier League knowledge
“For us, it’s all about balance. We obviously want to bring young players in, but the financial situation is tough this summer. We’re trying to be as creative as we can, and while we bring in young players, we think it’s important we have some experience to fit around them and Doc, like Craig [Dawson] and Mario [Lemina] who can provide that balance, to allow the younger players to develop.”
On coming back hungry
“I spoke to people at Spurs who thought he should have got more opportunities, because they thought they were a better team when he was in it. It’s probably given him some hunger, he’s probably thinking the last couple of years he hasn’t been able to play as much as he wanted and, while he doesn’t have something to prove, he’ll want to show himself again.
“The type of player he is, he wants to get in the box, wants to be scoring and creating goals, and he’s a good option to have as part of the squad.”
On him settling back in at the club
“It should be relatively simple. There’s still players and staff here that he knows. We’ve developed a relationship and Julen’s spoken to him, so I think it will be very simple. We’ve got a bigger group of homegrown players now than we had last time, with the transition we’ve gone through, and maybe there will be more to add, so there won’t be a problem.
“He’s been in Spain since January, so will have picked up a bit of the language and understands the mentality, which will help with Julen, his staff and some of the players, and obviously he’s worked with a lot of Portuguese people before. So, he’s probably one of the best equipped people to adapt at our club.
“He’ll do the same sort of pre-season as everyone. He’ll do some work on his own the first few days, after his testing, and the players are still building up with reduced minutes in games. We’ve done it early enough for him to be able to slot in no problem. He’s been working hard on his own.”
On the next few weeks of the window
“We’re very busy, very proactive in trying to bring some players in and trying to move on some players for who it’s time for new opportunities. We need to be in a profit, so this transfer window we have to be realistic, it’s not a simple one for us. It’s a natural transition for the group, some players are coming to the end of their cycle with us, but we’re still active, trying to improve. We’re trying to get the balance of the squad right, both in makeup of age and personality – one the fans can get behind and one Julen is excited by and believes in.”
