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Matt Doherty says he wishes he had as much flair as £30m speedster Tottenham are trying to sign

Giuseppe Labellarte

Thu 1 May 2025 17:15, UK

Tottenham Hotspur have been heavily linked with Wolverhampton Wanderers full-back Rayan Ait-Nouri in recent months.

Back in March, Tottenham were reported to have made contact with Wolves over a potential move for Rayan Ait-Nouri.

Indeed, Tottenham were said to have made a €35million (£30million) offer and were deemed ‘the most likely candidates’ to sign Ait-Nouri.

Now, former Spurs full-back Matt Doherty has made an admission about Ait-Nouri that will be music to Tottenham fans’ ears.

READ MORE: Matt Doherty says he had a teammate at Tottenham who was a better passer than Kevin De Bruyne

Matt Doherty reveals just how skilful Tottenham target Rayan Ait-Nouri is in Wolves training

Doherty is the latest guest on Sky Sports’ Sticker Book Challenge, in which guests have to make their top pick out of four options.

When it came to a teammate’s skill he wishes he had, he opted for Ait-Nouri’s flair ahead of the other options.

Doherty then shared just how skilful Ait-Nouri is in training, admitting he and his teammates are often in awe of him.

“His flair,” he began. “Some of the things he does in games, but there’s times in training where you’re like in boxes and you’re like walking with your legs closed, you don’t even want to go near him!

“His flair for sure I would swap… when we we played Liverpool away, and when I watched it back, you could hear Jamie Carragher go on about his the footwork he had.

“And this was like 80 minutes in so he’s obviously been watching it the whole game. It was just unbelievable, so to see some of the things that he would see – unbelievable.”

What Rayan Ait-Nouri could bring to Tottenham

It’s not surprising to see Tottenham being linked with Ait-Nouri, given how good he has been for Wolves.

Ait-Nouri is versatile enough to be able to play as a left-winger, a right-winger, and even as a No. 10 or a centre-back.

Indeed, he has been great in attack, so he could complement or even cover for Son Heung-min further up the pitch.

Former teammate Conor Coady previously said Ait-Nouri has “bags of tricks” and is “brilliant to have around”.

Meanwhile, pundit Ally McCoist said Ait-Nouri is capable of producing “ridiculous” and “majestic” passes.

With Ait-Nouri’s contract running until 2026 – albeit with a year’s option – Wolves’ hand may not overly strong in negotiations.

However, Tottenham could have competition. Arsenal have been linked with Ait-Nouri, while Manchester United are also reportedly keen on Ait-Nouri.