Wolves looking to send loan stars abroad

A host of youngsters were sent across Europe last season including Connor Ronan, Rafa Mir and a number who went to Jumilla in Spain.

Former Molineux midfielder Olofinjana says that, although there can still be successful loan spells for Wolves players in England such as Bright Enobakhare, who starred with Coventry last season, the style of football abroad is perhaps more beneficial.

“Before now we have sent players out to League One or League Two sides, but the style of play doesn’t always suit the kinds of players we have, so we started looking outside the country,” Olofinjana said.

“Now we’re looking at Slovakia, Poland and Belgium to give these boys an experience and to learn what it’s like to live outside of England.

“They can go and learn the culture, as well as going to play football, because the style of play at these clubs suits a lot of the players we are recruiting.

“Connor Ronan is a great example. He’s now in Slovakia and playing 90 minutes every week, winning man of the match awards and it’s working well for him.

“While an example of a player who used his first loan as a chance to go into a new environment and cope with all the new things that they have to take on board was Bright Enobakhare.

“He is now playing great at Coventry but initially went to Kilmarnock at the start of the season and didn’t play, but he learnt a lot.

“Bright came back in January, we sent him to Coventry and it’s been unbelievable since then – he’s played 18 games, scored six goals, and is now the best player in the team in my opinion.

“We’ve had 24 players out on loan during the second half of the season – which is a lot – but we couldn’t just leave them too it and then see where they are at when they come back; someone needs to be making sure they have all the things they need.

“We’re not just sending them there and saying goodbye, we’re going to monitor them, we’re going to support them through the process and we’re going to help them develop.

“Back in the day we used to knock on the door of clubs and ask if they can take this player, but now people are coming to us because they want our players. We’re in the driving seat and can ask them the right questions to make sure the players are going to the right clubs for them and it can only get better."