Wolves comment: Securing Romain Saiss another shrewd move
Romain Saiss is the latest player to commit his future to Wolves – and it appears another shrewd piece of business by the club.
Hot on the heels of tying down long-serving stars Conor Coady and Matt Doherty until 2023, Saiss – another with a few years of Molineux experience under his belt – has penned terms until 2021.
And it is a just reward for a man who epitomises the increasingly-important role of a squad player.
Barely seen during the early stages of this Premier League campaign, it would have been fair to assume the Moroccan was no longer part of Nuno Espirito Santo’s long-term vision, like Leo Bonatini or Kortney Hause who were both loaned out in January with a view to moving them on permanently.
But since his first Premier League start at Cardiff on November 30, the 28-year-old has been, without playing every minute of every match like skipper Coady, a solid performer.
That game against the Bluebirds ended in defeat and Saiss did not blow anyone away with his display, but he proved he could be considered as a centre-half option in the event of injuries or suspensions.
Having him and Leander Dendoncker able to slot into the backline or midfield with little fuss has been very useful to Nuno.
So much so, in fact, he felt no need to reinforce his defence even though Hause was sent out to Villa last month.
Most fans will agree that, despite playing at the back for his country at the World Cup last summer, Saiss is at his most effective in central midfield, breaking up play, playing clever and considered passes.
And his goal return of two from eight starts in the league is pretty respectable, those strikes coming in the 1-1 draw at Fulham and the comfortable 3-0 win against West Ham.
Saiss does not have the silky skills of Joao Moutinho, the shooting prowess of Ruben Neves or the engine of Dendoncker, but he brings composure and – not to be understated – experience of how the club operates.
He is part of the much-needed core that Wolves have, along with Coady, Doherty and several others from last term’s title-winning heroics.
The way this side has adapted to the top flight has surprised a lot of people, and a big factor in their rise to seventh is that Nuno has not abandoned what brought them to the dance.
Saiss may play less now, having made 37 starts in last season’s Championship triumph, but he is still very much involved in the old gold goings-on.
Having played under three different managers during his time with the club – Walter Zenga, Paul Lambert and Nuno – he has been a vital cog in the immense transformation over the past 18 months.
He knows the bad habits which Wolves picked up in those darker times and learned from them, to become a confident player with a burning desire to win matches and trophies under Nuno’s guidance.
So often you see teams come up to the Premier and replace the players who got them there with supposedly ‘better’ players, losing their identity in the process.
Fulham, who are seemingly destined for an immediate return to the second tier, are a classic example of that.
But Nuno has seen the importance of not replacing but building on the great foundations that were already in place.
Saiss is not someone who is going to win awards or grab headlines, but he is still, rightly, a part of Nuno’s pack.
He has had a steady first season in the Premier, so here’s to a couple more which will, hopefully, end up being similarly successful for him and the rest of Nuno’s team.
