When Wolves parted with Walter Zenga in an attempt to rescue the first season under their Fosun overlords, the Midlands giants wasted little time in appointing a manager who had, let’s say, been around the block a bit.
So when the vastly experienced Paul Lambert puffed out his cheeks and sang the praises of a teenage Irishman who had lit up an otherwise drab 0-0 draw with Sheffield Wednesday in January 2017, it was tempting to wonder whether Wolves had unearthed a diamond.
“Connor Ronan’s was as good a debut as I’ve seen from a young player,” Lambert said, taken aback by the 18-year-old’s confidence and composure in possession.
“I trust him. I’ve got no fear about playing him. It took me a millisecond to see how good he was.”
Unfortunately, the rapid rate of Wolverhampton Wanderers’ progress under their Chinese billionaire owners meant things never really worked out as Lambert or Ronan may have planned.
While Lambert sacrificed his job to Nuno Espirito Santo after just a few months in the hot seat, Ronan got lost in the churn, an influx of new, largely Iberian imports restricting him to just three more league games in Old Gold.
The last of Ronan’s 16 Wolves appearances in all competitions came in 2017/18, when Nouha Dicko, Ben Marshall and Jack Price were still plying their trade at Molineux.
How times have changed.
Does Connor Ronan still have a future at Wolves?
Now aged 23, Ronan is still a Wolves player – technically speaking at least.
The reality, however, is he’s unlikely to play for the club again having been farmed out on loan for the sixth time in his young career just weeks after Bruno Lage took over in the dugout.
The sight of Ronan firing a 25-yard rocket into the top corner of Rangers’ net during the Scottish Premiership clash with St Mirren yesterday must have been bitter-sweet.
It will have been a proud moment for those who’ve watched Ronan rise through the ranks but one that will have left many Wolves supporters wondering how things might have worked out for a man who looks destined for a bright future in senior football – albeit a long way from the club where he exploded on the scene.
Here’s what some Wolves supporters on Twitter thought about Connor Ronan’s performance for St Mirren yesterday:
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