Wolves are set to include a 15-YEAR-OLD schoolboy in their squad to face Arsenal amid their injury crisis… as Gary O’Neil hints ‘there might be a debut from the start’ for the youngster
- Wolves have just ten fit outfield players ahead of their clash with Arsenal
- As a result, they will include a 15-year-old in their roster on Saturday night
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Wolves are set to play Arsenal against a 15-year-old schoolboy on Saturday after he skipped a science lesson on Friday to prepare for the Premier League title challengers.
Right-back Wes Okoduwa would become Wolves’ youngest player at 15 years and 344 days, with the hosts having just 10 fit senior outfield players.
Craig Dawson, Nelson Semedo, Matheus Cunha, Pedro Neto and Jean-Ricard Bellegarde are all out, Hwang Hee-chan and Rayan Ait-Nouri are not fit enough to start and Mario Lemina and Pablo Sarabia are taking blows.
“We’re probably in the worst situation we’ve ever been in, but the positive is there’s a lot of young players involved against Arsenal,” said Wolves manager Gary O’Neil. “For some of the younger guys there could be one or two debuts right from the start.
‘I don’t know some of the people on the bench very well, if I’m honest. They have trained with the academy more than with us, but they were with us on Friday and someone was glad he missed his science class this morning so he could train with us.
Wolves will include 15-year-old Wes Okoduwa in their squad to play Arsenal on Saturday
Gary O’Neil hinted the schoolboy could be in line to start the match due to their injury crisis
‘I hope he had more fun with us than he would have had in science! He’s ready for the game.’
If he plays, Okoduwa will also become the Premier League’s second-youngest player after Arsenal’s Ethan Nwaneri, who was 15 years and 181 days when he came on in a 3-0 win over Brentford last season.
Legendary left winger Jimmy Mullen, who died in 1987, is Wolves’ youngest player at 16 years and 43 days when he made his debut against Leeds in 1939, although Cameron Buchanan was just 14 when he played for the club in a wartime match against rivals . West Brom.
Okoduwa has been cited as one of the country’s brightest talents in his age group and as an unused substitute for the 3-0 defeat to Newcastle on March 2. He has been linked with Manchester United and helped England Under-16s win the Football Federations Cup this season.
“He’s trained really well, he’s really good physically,” O’Neil said. “It’s probably a little too early in his development, but it’s the situation we’re in.”
