Wolves' Tommy Doyle talks England call-up hopes, facing Enzo Maresca again at Chelsea and captaincy ambitions

From northern Germany to the Welsh capital, Tommy Doyle has spent the last four seasons on loan after rising through the Manchester City youth academy – but has finally found a home in Wolverhampton. 

His Premier League debut arrived back in the 2019/20 season, replacing Riyad Mahrez for the final 15-minutes during a rampant 5-0 win against Newcastle towards the end of the campaign.

Despite getting a taste of the action in the top-flight of English football, his first real test in the league wouldn’t arrive until signing on loan at Molineux last summer.

The Manchester-born midfielder would go on to make 32 appearances for Wolves across all competitions under Gary O’Neil – but is now looking to kick on after sealing a permanent £4.3m move to the club.

“It was important for me to find somewhere as a base,” he said. “I was a bit all over the place with a few different loans.

“To have some stability now feels nice. I really enjoyed it last season and really happy it got made permanent. I’m ready to kick on again this season.”

Meeting Maresca again

In terms of goals and targets for the season, Doyle isn’t eager to apply numbers to his game but is looking to improve on last season’s performance, claiming “you’re doing something right” if you better the campaign before.

That certainly won’t be easy given the start to the season Wolves are facing. O’Neil’s side began the campaign with a trip to the Emirates Stadium against Arsenal, which ended in a 2-0 defeat. Doyle was an unused substitute on the afternoon.

It doesn’t get any kinder, either. Doyle and his team-mates will face the financial powerhouse of Chelsea at Molineux in their first home game on Sunday, but he isn’t intimidated by the prospect of facing their superstar-filled squad and his former City youth team boss, Enzo Maresca.

Doyle said: “Chelsea will be tough; they’ve got a lot of top players and the way he wants them to play is attacking football and possession-based, like most teams want to be.

“It will be nothing that we haven’t faced before, but he’s got players that can affect the game. We need to watch out for them and the main thing is that we focus on ourselves.”

Maresca and Doyle, who captained the side, formed a formidable partnership in the City youth squad, winning the U23 Premier League title back in 2020/21, his four goals and 10 assists playing a major role in the impressive run.

“I had a great relationship with him when I was at City,” he added. We won the league together and just another great coach.”

Three Lions on the horizon?

You’re only as good as the people you surround yourself with and it’s seemingly all go for Doyle’s former coaches at the moment.

Away from club football, his England U21 boss Lee Carsley has recently been appointed as Gareth Southgate’s temporary successor with the senior squad, which could pave a way for Doyle to follow in the footsteps of other young stars such as Cole Palmer and Adam Wharton.

“First of all, I’m buzzing for Lee,” Doyle said. “He’s a top guy and it would be good to have him there with the senior squad.”

Asked whether or not he’ll be eyeing a spot in the Three Lions squad as an ambition to work towards this season, he added: “For me personally, I think it’s on me to perform at Wolves.

“That’s the main thing. If I take care of that here, then hopefully that will come. I’m not solely focused on that, my performance here is the main thing.

“How you play for your club ultimately gets you that chance for your country, so that’s what I need to focus on.”

Would-be captain

It’s a level-headed approach that you would expect to see from a senior member within the squad, not a 22-year-old with just under 30 appearances in the Premier League.

Doyle regularly displays experience beyond his years and this hasn’t gone unnoticed by the Wolves boss, who gave the young midfielder the armband throughout pre-season and has spoken openly about the idea of Doyle becoming the vice-captain of the club.

“We haven’t really decided on a vice-captain, but Tommy is good with the standards he sets,” O’Neil said to the Express & Star. “He’s more than capable of wearing the armband.”

Doyle himself spoke about the possibility of becoming a leader within the squad, after stating he is “delighted” for teammate Mario Lemina, who has been appointed as the new club captain.

“Hundred per cent, I see myself as a leader,” he said. “Eventually, I want to get to that point where I can be a captain of a club. To learn off Mario will be nice for me, so hopefully I can lead this season and help the lads as much as possible.”

With key members of the team in Max Kilman and Pedro Neto already leaving this summer, the door is open for Doyle to become a key and, as time goes on, senior member of this squad.

His quality on the pitch, leadership off it and determination to succeed at the highest level all suggest one thing – Doyle is ready to make this club his own.