Ryan Bennett has Premier League ambitions with Wolves
Ryan Bennett is convinced that Wolves are a club going places – and he wants to be a big part of it.
The 27-year-old yesterday became Wolves' first signing of the summer, following new boss Nuno Espirito Santo through the door at Molineux.
Bennett has plenty of Championship experience under his belt – but it's Premier League football that he craves, as of course to Wolves.
And having left Norwich after five-and-a-half years at Carrow Road he's looking forward to a fresh start and a renewed challenge with Wolves that he hopes includes promotion sooner rather than later.
"There will be five, six, seven or eight clubs probably saying the same thing as what I’m saying and it is easy to say," Bennett said.
"You will see the ambition that’s going to come out from the club and the way that things are going to move forward and you’ll notice that within the first few months of the season.
"Hopefully, that can put a positive spin on the whole club and then people will realise that we’re not just sat here talking about it.
"Sometimes when you're in the Premier League, it becomes a bit of a haze but when you come out of it, you take a step back and you think ‘I need to get back there’.
"I’ve joined this club and that’s my aim and that’s what I want to do so hopefully we can all achieve that.
"I’ve only been here a couple of times to be honest - I’ve known a couple of players who have played here, Matt Jarvis, Elliott Bennett - a few people like that.
"They've had great words to say about it - they loved their time here and time they were here was quite successful as well.
"Coming and seeing the place has made me realise that - seeing the facilities, the ground and the training ground - the facilities are the best that I will have been involved in.
"That’s another positive for the club and hopefully we can take that forward and take the club to where they need to be.
"Some of the players that you’ve seen produced here over the last few years has been unbelievable really.
"Hopefully we can keep those players, add a few more and that will put us in good stead to achieve what the whole aim of the club is, to go and get promoted this year.
"I’ve been at Norwich now for five and half years and sometimes that’s too long in football - it’s quite nice to actually get out, new faces, fresh people to impress and hopefully that’s going to benefit me as well as the other players that will maybe come in this year and the players that are already here.
"Hopefully we can take a leaf from that and really push on."
Former Peterborough defender Bennett, 6ft 2in, has signed a three-year contract.
He made 119 appearances for the Canaries after, ironically being signed by Paul Lambert when he moved from the Posh to then-Premier League Norwich for £3million in 2012.
In total Bennett has just shy of 300 career league appearances under his belt and started out in League Two with Grimsby in 2007.
He's likely to have plenty of competition for a place at Wolves. Captain Danny Batth and England Under-21 international Kortney Hause are the other two regular first-team centre backs at the club, while Dominic Iorfa can also play there and Ethan Ebanks-Landell is back after a successful season-long loan spell with Sheffield United where he won the League One title.
Bennett said he had Premier League offers a year ago and is now keen to get back to the top flight as soon as possible, with Wolves' ambition having stood out.
He said: “It’s been a couple of weeks since anything has been mentioned and it’s nice to finally get down here and get it sorted - I’m looking forward to a new chapter,” Bennett said.
“It was just a case of me picking which club had the most ambition within what I want to do.
“You speak to people and this club’s stood out with the ambition and the way they're going to move forward, that’s what stood out to me and it’s something that I want to be part of.
“I roll back a year when I was under contract and there were places that I could have gone in the Premier League, then.
“A year later, it’s turned out that I’m on a free and there were always going to be options there.
“I’m not going to sit here and lie about it - I don't want to sit and play in the Championship really - that’s what we’re going to try and do, we’re going to try and get promoted from the Championship this year.
“I’ve played in the Premier League and that's something that everyone wants to do.
“I’m lucky enough to have done it but I want to do it again - you won’t speak to anyone who’s done it, who doesn't want to do it again.
“It was case of me picking a club that wanted to match that - speaking to the people who run the club, that ambition is definitely shared so it’s quite a positive time.”
