Rayan Aït-Nouri (Arabic: ريان آيت نوري; born 6 June 2001) is a professional footballer who plays as a left-back or a left wing-back for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers and the Algeria national team.

Rayan Aït-Nouri
ريان آيت نوري
Aït-Nouri with Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2024
Personal information
Full name Rayan Aït-Nouri[1]
Date of birth (2001-06-06) 6 June 2001 (age 22)
Place of birth Montreuil, France
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[2]
Position(s) Left-back, left wing-back
Team information
Current team
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Number 3
Youth career
2009–2012 AS Val de Fontenay
2012–2014 ASF Le Perreux 94
2014–2016 Paris FC
2016–2018 Angers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2018–2019 Angers II 11 (0)
2018–2021 Angers 23 (0)
2020–2021Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) 21 (1)
2021– Wolverhampton Wanderers 68 (3)
International career
2018–2019 France U18 10 (0)
2019–2020 France U21 5 (0)
2023– Algeria 9 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 9 March 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22 March 2024 (UTC)

Early life edit

Aït-Nouri grew up in Fontenay-sous-Bois, in the Val-de-Marne department.[3]

Club career edit

Angers edit

Aït-Nouri is a graduate of the Angers youth academy, which he joined from Paris FC in July 2016 in return for covering Aït-Nouri's tuition fees of €5,000.[4] He signed his professional contract aged 16 in February 2018[5] and made his first team debut as a substitute in a 1–3 loss to Paris Saint-Germain on 25 August 2018.[6]

After making three appearances in the 2018–19 season, he became the team's first choice left-back in the following season until breaking his jaw in a game against Nice in January 2020.[7] At the conclusion of the French league season, which was ended early due to the coronavirus pandemic, he signed a new contract that was due to keep him at Angers until 2023.[8]

Wolverhampton Wanderers edit

On 4 October 2020, Aït-Nouri moved on a season-long loan deal to Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers, with the club having an option of a permanent purchase.[9] Twenty-six days later, he scored his first goal in professional football, on his league debut in a 2–0 home win over Crystal Palace.[10]

On 9 July 2021, Aït-Nouri had made a permanent move to Wolves for £9.8 million, on a five-year deal with an option for a further year. He scored his second goal for Wolves in his 50th appearance for the club, on 15 May 2022, in a 1–1 home Premier League draw with Norwich City.[11]

On 26 December 2022, Aït-Nouri scored the winning Wolves goal in Julen Lopetegui's first Premier League game as Wolves' new head coach away at Everton; this was Aït-Nouri's first (and only) league goal of the 2022–23 season.[12]

Aït-Nouri made his 100th competitive appearance for Wolves in a 4–2 win away to Chelsea in the Premier League on 4 February 2024;[13] Aït-Nouri was the author of Wolves' second goal of the game, his shot being deflected into the Chelsea goal by Axel Disasi.

International career edit

Rayan Aït-Nouri was born in Montreuil, in the eastern suburbs of Paris. He holds French and Algerian nationalities.[14][15] He was a youth international for France, having represented the French under-18 and under-21 teams.[16] In January 2023, he switched to represent Algeria internationally.[17] He made his debut with the Algerian national team in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations qualification match against Niger, in Nelson Mandela Stadium, on 23 March 2023.[18]

In December 2023, he was named in Algeria's squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.[19]

Career statistics edit

Club edit

As of match played 16 March 2024[20]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Angers II 2017–18[21] Championnat National 3 4 0 4 0
2018–19[21] Championnat National 3 6 0 6 0
Total 10 0 10 0
Angers 2018–19[21] Ligue 1 3 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
2019–20[21] Ligue 1 17 0 0 0 0 0 17 0
2020–21[21] Ligue 1 3 0 0 0 3 0
Total 23 0 0 0 0 0 23 0
Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) 2020–21[22] Premier League 21 1 3 0 0 0 24 1
Wolverhampton Wanderers 2021–22[23] Premier League 23 1 2 0 2 0 27 1
2022–23[24] Premier League 21 1 2 0 4 1 27 2
2023–24[25] Premier League 24 1 3 1 2 0 29 2
Wolves total 89 4 10 1 8 1 107 6
Career total 122 4 10 1 8 1 0 0 140 6

References edit

  1. ^ "Updated squad lists for 2022/23 Premier League". Premier League. 4 February 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  2. ^ "Rayan Aït-Nouri". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  3. ^ "EXCLU - Rayan Aït-Nouri : « Je ne me compare à personne, j'ai ma propre identité »". Onze Mondial (in French). 23 December 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Rayan Aït-Nouri, la révélation d'Angers à 5000 euros" (in French). Le Parisien. 5 October 2019.
  5. ^ "Rayan Ait Nouri passe professionnel à Angers" (in French). L'Equipe. 14 February 2018.
  6. ^ "Paris Saint-Germain 3-1 Angers". BBC Sport. 25 August 2018.
  7. ^ "Angers: Rayan Aït-Nouri absent plusieurs mois" (in French). L'Equipe. 12 January 2020.
  8. ^ "Rayan Aït-Nouri prolonge jusqu'en 2023 !ois" (in French). Angers SCO. 12 January 2020.
  9. ^ "Wolves complete signing of Aït-Nouri". Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C. 4 October 2020.
  10. ^ Poole, Harry (30 October 2020). "Wolverhampton Wanderers 2–0 Crystal Palace: Teenager Rayan Ait-Nouri scores on debut". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  11. ^ de Cosemo, Harry (15 May 2022). "Wolves 1–1 Norwich: Canaries hold Wolves to drab draw". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 May 2022.
  12. ^ Sutcliffe, Steve (26 December 2022). "Everton 1–2 Wolverhampton Wanderers: Dramatic late winner for visitors". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 December 2022.
  13. ^ Poole, Harry (4 February 2024). "Chelsea 2-4 Wolves". BBC Sport. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  14. ^ "Rayan AIT NOURI". unfp.org (in French). Retrieved 9 January 2024.
  15. ^ https://www.lefigaro.fr/sports/football/football-rayan-ait-nouri-aurait-choisi-de-jouer-pour-l-algerie-20230103
  16. ^ "Algérie-France : Rayan Aït Nouri aurait fait son choix". 17 April 2020.
  17. ^ "Rayan Aït-Nouri a choisi la sélection d'Algérie" [Rayan Aït-Nouri chose Algeria]. L'Équipe (in French). 3 January 2023.
  18. ^ "Ait-Nouri makes Algeria debut | Men's First-Team | News". Wolverhampton Wanderers FC.
  19. ^ "CAN 2024 : L'Algérie Dévoile sa Liste Officielle – Qui Sont les Fennecs Prêts à Conquérir l'Afrique ?" (in French). Algérie-Focus. 30 December 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  20. ^ Rayan Aït-Nouri at Soccerbase
  21. ^ a b c d e "Ratan Aït-Nouri". Soccerway. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  22. ^ "Games played by Rayan Aït-Nouri in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  23. ^ "Games played by Rayan Aït-Nouri in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  24. ^ "Games played by Rayan Aït-Nouri in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 9 August 2022.
  25. ^ "Games played by Rayan Aït-Nouri in 2023/2024". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 August 2023.

External links edit