With 15 goals and 15 assists in the past two seasons at Wolves, Matt Doherty is second only to Trent Alexander-Arnold as the Premier League’s most productive right-back/right wing-back.
Aside from this, since winning promotion to the Premier League with Wolves, the Dubliner has been one of the most consistent players in the league and a large part of the club's success.
However, ten years ago, this all seemed a distant dream when Doherty swapped Bohemians for Wolves. At the time, the defender was working as a carpet cleaner and wondering how he'd get across the Irish Sea and play for a club in England.
After impressing for Bohemians in a pre-season friendly against Wolves, Mick McCarthy snapped up the defender for the bargain fee of £75,000. 300 games later, that money is now looking like the bargain of the decade.
Despite Wolves being relegated to League One, Doherty continued to develop his game and a recent piece by The Athletic details how the Irishman changed his dietary approach under the then manager, Kenny Jacket.
Former team-mate Carl Ikeme says that: "He was always technically good. If he made some changes to his life — diet, fitness etc — it would happen for him."
The biggest changes to Doherty's diet arrived when Nuno Espirito Santo arrived at Molineux.
"Out went microwave meals, fizzy drinks and sweets. In, inspired by his captain and friend Danny Batth, came a pescatarian diet and an increased focus on health and fitness that saw him lose more than half a stone," the article states.
Speaking about the impact that these changes. Ikeme says that Doherty deserves all the praise: “We can all praise the club and Nuno, rightly so, but ultimately, Doc’s made the sacrifices to kick on to the next level. He should be applauded for that. He used to look tired or heavy in the legs in the last 10 or 15 minutes of games but he doesn’t anymore. His energy is incredible.”
Long may the Dubliner continue to maraud up and down the flanks of every Premier League ground.
You can read the whole piece about Doherty in The Athletic here.
