On completing a return to Wolves, Matt Doherty insisted that his experiences at Tottenham Hotspur and Atletico Madrid helped him improve as a player, both physically and tactically.
Doherty made over 300 appearances for Wolves in his ten seasons at the club before making the switch to Spurs in a £14.7m deal back in 2020 when he became one of the first arrivals of the Jose Mourinho era.
(Photo by Alex Davidson/Getty Images)
The 31-year-old struggled to hold down a regular place in the starting eleven during his two-a-half years in North London before signing a six-month contract with Atletico Madrid in January after his deal at Spurs was terminated by mutual consent on deadline day (Football.London).
The move to the Spanish capital did not go to plan for the right-back, who has made just two appearances for Diego Simeone’s men in his five-month spell at the club.
Doherty believes he is now a better overall player
The Republic of Ireland international has now sealed a return to the Molineux Stadium, and he insisted that even though his three years away from the club did not always pan out the way he wanted, he had a great time playing for some of the best managers in the world.
Doherty told Wolves’ official channel: “I’ve grown as a player in confidence, physically I’ve improved and tactically too.
“I’ve worked with some of the best managers on the planet and I’ve experienced some really good trips away in Europe and had a great time. But I’ve managed to find my way back home.
“I’ve had some times when my form hasn’t been great and I’ve not been able to play as well as I did when I was at Wolves the first time.
“But I know I still have a lot to give and let’s hope I’m able to keep improving under this new manager and that he can get the best out of me.
“I still have my house here in the Midlands and I’ve been able to move straight back into that, so everything has been running really smoothly.”
Spurs Web Opinion
I believe that Doherty’s story at Tottenham would have been a lot different had he not picked up the injury against Aston Villa back in April of last year as he was on a brilliant run of form at the time.
The 31-year-old never quite managed to force himself back into the starting eleven after that injury and has good reason to feel hard done by at the lack of opportunities during the first half of last season.
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