Former Wolves defender Luke Matheson has made some interesting claims about his time at Wolves.
The 22-year-old recently signed for Macclesfield Town in the National League North, having left Bolton Wanderers.
Luke Matheson had been at Bolton for two years, and left on the expiry of his contract.
But previously, Matheson had been at Wolves, who plucked him from Rochdale as a 17-year-old, after he had really impressed.
Matheson had famously scored an equaliser in a 1–1 draw against Manchester United in an EFL Cup third-round match at Old Trafford, which drew a lot of attention to him.
Wolves paid £1 million to sign Matheson, which was obviously a lot of money to spend on a 17-year-old playing in the lower leagues of English football.
So hopes were very high, but sadly Matheson never made a first-team appearance for Wolves – and the player has now suggested the pathway may not have been right for him.
Luke Matheson questions Wolves’ management of him
Luke Matheson doing his first Wolves interview.
Photo by stuartmanleyphotography/Wolves/WWFC via Getty Images
Matheson recently appeared on the More Than A Match podcast to talk about his career in football to date.
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And it was particularly interesting when Matheson reflected on his time at Molineux.
The youngster gives an honest and revealing account of his time at the club, believing there wasn’t necessarily a plan for him, and that the move actually became a bit of a step back.
He said: “It was weird because I first went to train with the 23s in Group 3. And it was a really weird dynamic because it felt like from the very start I’d almost taken somewhat of a step back.
“Because I’d played like 25/30 games in League One at the time. And that’s what they were all trying to get to. Like, the 23s are trying to get loans to there. So that’s kind of the point where I thought ‘I’m already past that, I’ve played men’s football’.
“I wanted to get back out there. I didn’t want to play 23s if that makes sense.
“I think it’s one of them (things). On signing day, the sporting director told me all these things about how it was Matt Doherty at the time, and they wanted me to learn and eventually, if everything went right, I’d mould into that position.
“I don’t think that ever really came to fruition or ever really happened. It felt like there was never actually really a plan, if that makes sense. I was just bought, kind of thing.”
Matheson was purchased in January 2020, and went immediately back on loan to Rochdale, before he then returned to Wolves in the summer and then struggled to actually play.
Matheson added that he played more games for England youth teams than any Wolves team, in six months.
“It was like, it felt like I’d, straight away, taken this massive step back. And it was really tough to deal with,” he added.
Matheson also said Wolves actually misdiagnosed a hamstring injury he picked up. Initially it was deemed a ‘2A’, but it was later determined to be more serious, a ‘4C’, which meant he needed surgery.
Matheson names the only first-team players who spoke to him at Wolves
It is a real shame to hear that Matheson never really felt there was an actual plan for him, as there was real hype when he came in after his exploits with Rochdale. It also sounds like it was a very tough spell for him at Wolves.
Matheson, who left Molineux in 2023 after several loan spells, added that Wolves wanted him to stay at the club and learn the role of wing-back, as the youth teams play the same systems as the first-team.
And unfortunately, Matheson added that it was tough to actually form relationships with people during his time at the club, especially with first-team players.
Matheson occasionally trained with the first-team to make up numbers and said there were only two players who made conversation with him.
“The only one that ever really spoke to me was like Conor Coady or John Ruddy. That was really it. It was tough because the 23s were their own bubble, away from the first-team.”
Hopefully, after going through a lot, Matheson will now make a success of his move to Macclesfield and potentially make a move back up the leagues later down the line.