Express & Star

Jackett: Ethan Ebanks-Landell can be a force at Wolves

Wolves boss Kenny Jackett is tipping young defender Ethan Ebanks-Landell to push Danny Batth and Richard Stearman for their first-team spots next season.

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Jackett reckons the 22-year-old will be a major contender for senior starts despite Stearman and Batth forming a consistent partnership during Wolves' challenge for the Championship play-offs.

Ebanks-Landell deputised impressively for Batth in last weekend's 1-0 win at Wigan after the popular skipper was ruled out for three months with a stress fracture to his foot.

And now Jackett is backing Batth's fellow academy graduate to push him and Stearman hard next term.

"He played well last week and he's a good player," said Jackett.

"He's been unlucky with Batth and Stearman basically being my first-choice centre-backs.

"He got in earlier in the season, had some games and played well, came out of the side through a hamstring injury and has been substitute ever since.

"For myself and everybody on the playing staff they won't be surprised by Ethan's performance.

"He was very good and is a good player with a big future at Wolves. He's also played right-back – in League One not the Championship yet – so I think he has more strings to his bow.

"You can never have enough good players and at 22 I think Ethan has a good future."

Wolves were facing a final chance to gatecrash the play-off spots this lunchtime on the back of last season's promotion from League One.

And Jackett is looking forward to next season regardless of the outcome of today's final round of games.

Wolves have backed up Jackett's successful first season at the helm with another pleasing campaign, and the former Millwall boss says he will look to learn lessons from his first Molineux campaign at Championship level.

"I'm sure there will be things we can learn, definitely," he said.

"I didn't see the blip in November coming, but I'm sure there are things along the way.

"You see different players do well for different clubs and maybe considered them, so yes there will be an accumulation of things definitely.

"There's no one stand-out thing where I could say 'if I'd have done this we would have been better'.

"You need to get into it and assess it as you go along. You do look at everything."

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