“I thought he was fantastic.”
Irish football fans are already expecting great deeds for Nathan Collins, at Wolves. Richard Dunne would not be surprised if he is not at Molineux too long.
Collins moved from Burnley to Wolves for £20.5 million, over the summer. It is the highest transfer fee paid for an Irish player, and the 21-year-old has displaced Conor Coady in the Wolves defence.
He has accumulated five of his six Ireland caps this year and scored a fine, individual goal in a recent Nations League tilt with Ukraine:
Nathan Collins has scored one of the all-time great Ireland goals ☘️#UKRIRL pic.twitter.com/4EZZuEgDMK
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) June 14, 2022
Richard Dunne on Nathan Collins’ potential
While Richard Dunne joked that he could only ever dream about scoring a goal like Nathan Collins did against Ukraine, the former Manchester City and Ireland defender believes the Leixlip native could be trying to replicate such deeds on a bigger stage, in club football.
“From what I’ve seen of him, at the end of last season and this summer with the international team, I thought he was fantastic,” Dunne told Premier Sport.
“It’s a really good move for him. It has been rapid, his whole rise from being captain of Stoke, at a young age, then his move to Burnley and now this move to Wolves. He will make mistakes along the way, but he’s got that potential.
“If he keeps progressing as he has done, over the last while, there’s a big opportunity for him. The bigger clubs – the likes of Man City and Man United – will all be looking at him, this season. The form he showed for Ireland at international level, last season, was outstanding.
“You don’t want to put too much pressure on him, too soon, but he has the potential to go to one of the bigger clubs in English football.”
From one great Irish centre back to another! 🤝
Richard Dunne believes big things are to come for Nathan Collins 👀
"He has the potential to really go to one of the bigger clubs in English football." 🗣️ pic.twitter.com/OWo8dNqOSK
— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) August 6, 2022
High praise for Nathan Collins from a man that played 20 seasons of professional football in England and lined out 80 times for his country.
