Young striker Nathan Fraser has Gary O’Neil’s support and is expected to “have an impact” for Wolves this year.
After making offers for Che Adams and Boulaye Dia before electing to promote academy standout Fraser to fourth choice striker, the club failed to add another attacker to the squad on transfer deadline day.
The 18-year-old scored on his professional debut after coming off the bench against Blackpool in the Carabao Cup just days before, and he continues to shine for the under-21s after scoring against Notts County in the EFL Trophy.
Fraser has yet to make his Premier League debut, but O’Neil believes he will make an impact this season.
“We’ve had him train with us more than he has previously,” he explained. We’ve had him around our group a lot because I wanted to get a good look at him and see whether he could benefit the group.
“Of course, we were trying to add to that attacking area and how we could add goals during the transfer window, but we knew Nathan was a potential option as well.”
“I wanted to get a really good look at him before the window closed.”
“There was a lot of interest from sides looking to loan him out, but I felt it was important to keep Nathan around and have him around the first team group, especially since we didn’t add a number nine.”
“He’s trained really well, and I’m confident he’ll have an impact this season, whether starting or coming off the bench.”
After the win over Notts County, Wolves’ under-21s coach James Collins praised Fraser, calling him a ‘dream’ to work with.
The striker has been praised for his positive attitude and work ethic, which O’Neil believes will serve him well.
“The Premier League is at an extremely high level now,” the head coach continued, “so there’s a big gap between playing for Wolves under-21s and playing for Wolves’ first team.”
“There’s a lot of work to be done, but he’s exactly the right type.” He has a lot of questions, wants to know how he can improve, and is eager to go to work.
“He also possesses natural ability and physicality, which can pose difficulties for the defense.”
“Of course, he’s still very, very young, so it’s important not to put too much expectation on him and the impact that he may be able to have, but I definitely believe he can have one.”
Leave a Reply