John De Wolf endorses Wolves to new signing Rajiv van La Parra

John De Wolf today gave new Dutch signing Rajiv van la Parra a glowing endorsement of Wolves.

De Wolf was the last outfield Dutchman to play for Wolves when he signed for Graham Taylor from Feyenoord for £1m in December 1994 and immediately became a cult hero through his distinctive flowing hair and beard, as well as his name.

Exciting winger Van la Parra, 23, has followed in his footsteps after signing from Heerenveen in a three-year deal yesterday.

Now 51, De Wolf scored five goals in 28 games for Wolves, including a memorable hat-trick in a 4-2 win at Port Vale in February 1995, before leaving in February 1996 following a disagreement with Taylor's successor Mark McGhee about playing for the reserves.

The bearded former defender, who is now a TV celebrity in his native Netherlands, has declared Van la Parra has the perfect stage to showcase his talents in his new surroundings.

De Wolf tweeted:

De Wolf managed several lower league Dutch sides after retiring from playing in 2000 and is now a TV celebrity.

Currently working as a presenter on Dutch regional channel RNN7 on a show called Living with John, he began his media career in 2004 and has presented 'Cooking with John' and 'Sleeping with John'.

In 2006, he was one of the participants on the Dutch hit show 'Dancing with the Stars'.

He also featured on the show 'Fighting with the Stars', where he fought – and lost to – Tschen La Ling, another former footballer.

Watch John De Wolf scoring a hat-trick for Wolves against Port Vale below.

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