Arsenal or Liverpool? Rayan Ait-Nouri’s ideal next club will surprise you

Rayan Ait-Nouri is a player in demand.

The versatile wide player has established himself as a key cog in Gary O’Neil’s Wolves side and this has naturally attracted the attention of bigger clubs. In January, FootballTransfers revealed that Arsenal and Liverpool had begun taking a keen interest in his development at Molineux.

Earlier this month, we were able to report that Man City had also joined the mix for the French-born Algeria international. With Wolves mired in financial difficulties, it could only be a matter of time before they cash in on the 22-year-old.

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A left-back by trade, Ait-Nouri has actually featured in a more offensive role due to his club’s shortage of attacking options this season. The wing-back even played as an attacking midfielder for a bit against West Ham recently.

Though his offensive output is still a work in progress – two goals and an assist are nothing to write home about – his versatility makes him an attractive option, hence the big-name interest in securing his services.

Ait-Nouri’s next club

It is too early to say where Ait-Nouri will end up this summer (if he moves at all), but consulting data analytics firm SciSports, we can get a decent idea of where he would fit in well. SciSports rate the Algerian highly, believing that he still has significant potential at 22.

Indeed, Ait-Nouri has the potential upside to eventually become an important player for pretty much every team in the Premier League’s traditional ‘big six.’ Given his versatility, it is clear why Mikel Arteta is keen on bringing him to Arsenal, though at his current level, he would be behind Oleksandr Zinchenko in the pecking order.

Intriguingly, however, SciSports rate Ait-Nouri higher than Jakub Kiwior and even Jurrien Timber, indicating that he would see plenty of game time at the Emirates especially since FootballTransfers exclusively revealed that Zinchenko could be sold this summer.

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SciSports believe that Arsenal would be one of Ait-Nouri’s better transfer options, though not the best one. That honour belongs to north London rivals Tottenham, but even they wouldn’t be a perfect fit. SciSports use a Club Fit rating to illustrate how well a player would do at any given club and Spurs’ score is a solid but unspectacular 75 (Arsenal’s is 72).

This surprisingly low rating for the number-one spot betrays a slight concern regarding Ait-Nouri. His ability is not in doubt, but what is his best position? Is it at left-back, on the wing or is he perhaps really a midfielder at heart? Unless that is clarified, his future may continue to be up in the air.