Rayan Aït-Nouri (Tifinagh: ⵔⴰⵢⴰⵏ ⴰⵢⵜ ⵏⵓⵔⵉ; 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. Born in France, he plays for the Algeria national team.
Aït-Nouri playing for Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2024
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Rayan Aït-Nouri[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (2001-06-06) 6 June 2001 (age 23) | ||
| 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) |
| 2020–2021 | → Wolverhampton Wanderers (loan) | 21 | (1) |
| 2021– | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 77 | (4) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2018–2019 | France U18 | 10 | (0) |
| 2018 | France U19 | 2 | (0) |
| 2019–2020 | France U21 | 5 | (0) |
| 2023– | Algeria | 12 | (0) |
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 19 May 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 10 June 2024 (UTC) | |||
Aït-Nouri was born in Montreuil, in the eastern suburbs of Paris. He grew up in Fontenay-sous-Bois, in the Val-de-Marne department.[3]
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 3–1 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]
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 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 away win against 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.
Aït-Nouri 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]
| 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 | 33 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 38 | 3 | ||
| Wolves total | 98 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 8 | 1 | — | 116 | 7 | |||
| Career total | 131 | 5 | 10 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 149 | 7 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Algeria | 2023 | 4 | 0 |
| 2024 | 8 | 0 | |
| Total | 12 | 0 | |
