Wolves are currently holding talks with Kortney Hause to extend his contract beyond the summer of 2019. The 22-year-old has made just one substitute appearance in the EFL Championship and is way below the pecking order behind the likes of Willy Boly, Conor Coady, Roderick Miranda and Ryan Bennett.
Hause has found first-team opportunities hard to come by even in other domestic competitions and has registered just 487 minutes of game time this season. He used to be a key figure in the Wanderers lineup under Paul Lambert but it looks like Nuno Santo prefers the more experienced figures.
Hause developed his game in the youth ranks of Wycombe Wanderers and West Ham United before signing his first professional contract with the League Two club. After his impressing in the lower divisions with 23 total appearances, he was signed by Wolverhampton as a last minute addition in January 2014. He has been capped for the England youth ranks at U20 and U21 level a total 19 times and boasts of the immense potential of making it in the English game.
Hause took the chance to showcase his talents to the Portuguese manager in the EFL Cup tie against Manchester City back in October. The England U23 international held off the likes of Sergio Aguero and Gabriel Jesus for 120 minutes before suffering a penalty shoot-out heartbreak.
Wolves are already preparing for the Premier League and it would be foolish to let a young talent like Hause leave. A few teams had come calling in the January window and Nuno Santo was successful in fending off interests. The Wolves boss is well aware of the challenges next season will hold and a team with solid depth will be able to face them head-on.
Hause is more than just a rotational option in the Wolves lineup of the future. Even though Boly has been the star performer from the back, he is set to leave in the summer if a permanent deal is not signed before then. Shelling out €12m for him might not be in the best interests of the Wanderers management and that will allow Hause to slip into a more important role at the club.
Santo has implemented a back three formation which works best with Conor Coady as the anchor in the centre. Against the likes of Championship competition, it has fared quite well, but there is no guarantee that it will work in the Premier League. The jump to top-flight football is quite significant and players often fail to match up to the quality both defensively and offensively. Hause’s talents will in no doubt come handy when the Wanderers fight for survival in the first division.
