£50k-a-week player explains he was ‘worried’ about joining Wolves in the summer

£50k-a-week player explains he was ‘worried’ about joining Wolves in the summer

Wolves full-back Matt Doherty says he did have some doubts initially about returning to Wolves, but ultimately felt the move was a ‘no-brainer’.

Doherty was the second signing of the summer by Wolves, joining on a free transfer after leaving Atletico Madrid.

It was a move that raised eyebrows, because Doherty had been known as a top wing-back. And Wolves had ditched the formation he was so good in.

But he was a player Julen Lopetegui really wanted to bring in, and someone the board were very much set on signing.

So far, £50,000-a-week star Doherty hasn’t played too much, making seven appearances in total. Three of those have been starts, with two coming in the Carabao Cup.

But encouragingly for Doherty, Wolves have started to use the wing-backs system again recently, meaning he’ll be an important squad player moving forward.
Doherty was speaking about returning to Wolves at an open training session at Molineux this week.

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The Republic of Ireland international is very happy to be back at Molineux.

But the 31-year-old says he did have some doubts initially about coming back. He told talkSPORT’s Ian Abrahams (quoted by Wolves official): “You’re a little bit wary at the start about going back on what I’ve done before, you know? I was just a bit worried if I would kind of ruin what I did before, if the second spell doesn’t go as well and stuff like that.

“But once you get over that, it was kind of a no-brainer in the end.”

Doherty was a smart signing by Wolves

It is interesting to hear Doherty admit he had reservations about joining Wanderers for a second spell.

It is understandable that he had concerns about coming in and falling short of the level he showed last time. Especially with Wolves having switched primary formations.

But something clearly pushed him to come back to Molineux – and it’s good that he did come back.

He may not be the same player as the first time around. But Doherty is an experienced Premier League player who still has plenty to offer, both on and off the pitch. Indeed, Joe Hodge has already hailed the star for his professionalism.

He will be handy to have, especially with Gary O’Neil showing he is partial to deploying a wing-backs system, which obviously suits Doherty more.