The Keen & Judah Show: Is Jean-Ricner Bellegarde Wolves' most improved player?

Express & Star

Nathan Judah and Liam Keen return to your televisions. This week they're looking at six Wolves players - old and new! - and asking what targets they should each have for their 2025/26.

Transcript

00:00We've got four players to discuss now and what we expect them to do this season,

00:04what we think they should be doing next season.

00:06Let's talk about maybe one of the most improved players last year.

00:11And there's a poll at this moment in time that you can vote on

00:13on the Express The Star website, whether you agree with us or not.

00:16Jean-Rickman Bellegarde, 20 starts last year.

00:20I think that would have been surprising if we were rewound it 11 months

00:24and we were saying whether Bellegarde would make 20 starts.

00:26But he did in a variety of positions, mainly on that right-hand side

00:30from the forward positions and central midfield.

00:32And a really good, good season.

00:35Two Premier League goals, seven assists and went on a purple patch, didn't he,

00:39where he was playing absolutely magnificent football.

00:41And we all know that Jean-Rickman Bellegarde is very much a confidence player.

00:46I'm not sure whether either of us thought, and correct me if I'm wrong, Liam,

00:50that he had that consistency in at a Premier League level where, you know,

00:54we thought someone who's maybe useful off the bench

00:56and I'm not sure who's going to make it.

00:57And then all of a sudden he was up there, he was mentioned for Player of the Month.

01:02He was in superb form and credit to him.

01:05He did tail off slightly, I think, towards the end of this season.

01:08So in terms of Jean-Rickman Bellegarde, someone who I would say

01:12would probably be on the chopping block if he hadn't had that purple patch,

01:16maybe someone who may have a future at Wolves, may not.

01:19I think he definitely is now.

01:20I think Vita Poirier wants him.

01:21I think he's a very important part of this squad.

01:22But what sort of targets do you give him next season to try and get into this side?

01:29Is it just as simple as, again, a bit like Marshall Minetsi,

01:32becoming a regular member and a regular starter?

01:34And is he good enough to do that?

01:36Yeah, it comes down to two things for me with Bellegarde.

01:38One of them being the numbers that you just mentioned.

01:41Two goals, seven assists.

01:42The season before, rather, two goals and one assist.

01:46Now that's a really good improvement.

01:47Now the goals, I think, definitely need to work.

01:49But the assist, I think, to get seven Premier League assists is a really good return,

01:53actually, for someone that was definitely in and out of the team

01:56and definitely in and out of form.

01:57If you can build on that and particularly build on the goals,

02:00that would be a major target for him.

02:03But more importantly than that, I think in my position,

02:07they're likely similar to Minetsi in the sense that I think he needs to find his home

02:10and his position.

02:11I do think Central would build as that number eight, you know,

02:15in and out of the team alongside João Gomes and André is a position that could work for him.

02:20But I think his versatility means that he can, within games or off the bench,

02:25move and play in those further forward positions as well.

02:29So I like the versatility, but I think he needs to sort of nail down a position

02:32that he's going to fight for.

02:34But more important than all of that is that keyword that we've just mentioned,

02:37and we mentioned with other players, is consistency.

02:40Because even though he had that really good spell,

02:43which he needs a lot of credit for,

02:44in the second half of the season,

02:47the vast majority of the season,

02:49he was his old self in a wolf shirt,

02:50which is a player that has a lot of talent,

02:53but wasn't really showing it and was very inconsistent.

02:55That's the biggest challenge for him.

02:57He's not going to go and have a nine out of 10 performance

03:00in 38 Premier League games next season.

03:02He can be a lot more consistent.

03:05You know, two or three good games out of four or five,

03:07not one in six, which we saw very regularly in a wolf shirt.

03:12So I think that's the really, really important thing for him next season.

03:16If he can find his home,

03:18maybe add a bit more in terms of the goals column,

03:21but just stay consistent and keep his position in the team.

03:24That would be a really, really important thing for him.

03:25And I think he's got the quality and ability

03:27to be a good member of the squad next year.

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