Irish full-back Matt Doherty spent ten years with Wolverhampton Wanders between 2010 and 2020, and in that time, he established himself as one of the best defenders in the Premier League.
Unfortunately for the Ireland international, since leaving Molineux in 2020, he has faced some difficult moments in his career.
Doherty re-signed for his old club back in the summer on a free transfer, and he is showing the same kind of form again as he did in his previous spell at the Midlands club.
Doherty and Wolves eyeing top half finish – eye on the prize
After steady improvement this season, Wolves are now priced at 16/1 to go down, so people looking at a bet on Premier League relegation odds from Betfair might consider them as an outside option.
However, it’s looking like there are several teams more likely to drop down to the Championship.
Now they have put some distance between themselves and the bottom three, Doherty and his teammates will be eyeing a top-half finish this season.
They have shown they have what it takes to compete with the big teams in the league, as their 2-1 success against Premier League champions Manchester City showed back in September.
The Irishman has rotated with Portugal’s Nelson Semedo this season, with both internationals getting plenty of minutes on the pitch. Wolves boss Gary O’Neil is fortunate to have lots of depth at full-back, and that is helping to share the load across the squad.
Move to Spurs – three interesting seasons
In August 2020, Doherty made the move to Tottenham for a fee of £13.4 million. He made 44 Premier League appearances for the North London club across three seasons.
Although there were some positives from his spell with Spurs, including an appearance in the EFL Cup final in 2021, it did not go as well as the Irish defender would have wanted.
Doherty had to battle with Serge Aurier for a position in the team in his opening year at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. He then suffered a serious leg injury. This kept him out of action in the latter stages of his career with the club.
Brief spell in La Liga – a great experience
After terminating his contract with Tottenham in January 2023, Doherty signed for Atletico Madrid in Spain on a free transfer. He only placed twice for the Spanish club, but it was a great experience for the Irishman.
Unfortunately for Doherty, he was not able to earn himself a longer contract at the end of the 2022/23 season. This led to him returning to Wolves. He recently played his 300th game for Wanderers, adding to his legacy as a legend for the club.
Captain against the Netherlands – leading the way
Doherty was handed the armband for Ireland in their Euro 2024 qualifier away to the Netherlands.
It was not the first time that the defender had been captain of his country. He was first given that honour back in March for a game against Latvia.
The Wolves man could be seen as a long-term option as captain of the senior team. Manager Stephen Kenny was recently sacked by Ireland, and the new head coach who will replace him will decide on who they want to lead the team on the pitch.
Doherty will be hoping to end the season strongly for club and country, and if he continues in the same form as he is doing, it could be an excellent year ahead for him.
