Wolves boss has say on Rayan Ait-Nouri's future position

The Algerian international has four goals and five assists in all competitions this season, after starting the campaign at left-back but now at wing-back since Pereira arrived.

Wolves' defence has been a problem all season, with just four clean sheets so far.

Ait-Nouri's biggest strength is his attacking talent, while he has struggled to stop crosses this season, but Pereira is keen to improve him defensively and remain consistent in his messages rather than play the 23-year-old in his front three.

"If we start to give Rayan different roles, we will lose what he's good at," Pereira said when asked if he would consider moving Ait-Nouri further forward.

"He's an offensive player, very offensive. A left-back who is sometimes more of a winger than a left-back.

"We must improve him as a defender and he can give us a lot when we are attacking, because he has the quality.

"But he's trying, in a different system when asking him to do different things, to deliver what I'm asking.

"The next step is to understand that he can attack inside, attack outside and do different things.

"In this moment we need to be consistent in what we are doing and then the next step is to give freedom to them to feel comfortable in the system and add something with their qualities.

"But in this moment we need to be more compact and better when we are defending, not allowing crosses.

"We need to work as a line, to know how to defend in the middle and now allow passes in our block.

"We cannot press alone and we should understand the moment to jump and press and the moment to wait.

"With time we'll correct everything."

The player is also eager to attack and link up with Matheus Cunha, but is keen to follow Pereira's instructions as a wing-back to help Wolves survive relegation this season.

“In the pitch I get a bit higher and Cunha comes down a little bit and that’s good because I can attack," Ait-Nouri said.

“This is a positive for me but I will try to follow the instructions from the coach because he speaks a lot with me and I want to fight for him and for my team-mates and also for the fans."