Wolves' Romain Saiss shining the way for hopes of his nation

The 29-year-old is Morocco’s only footballer currently plying his trade in the Premier League – and that brings him huge pride.

He is not the first from the North African nation to grace the top flight, of course.

Adel Taarabt, Mustapha Hadji and Hassan Kachloul, who had a brief spell with Wolves, are just a few who have caught the eye over the past couple of decades.

And now Saiss, who has been deployed in both defence and midfield by Nuno Espirito Santo this term and played all of Wolves’ semi-final loss to Watford on Sunday, wants to set a fine example for those from the country he has represented 30 times.

He said: “They are happy for me because we are having a really good season. I am the only Moroccan player in the Premier League.

“It’s is important for them because I am playing in the best league in the world. They are happy for me.

“I hope I can be a good example for Moroccan people who want to come and play in England because it is fantastic.”

After playing for Morocco at last summer’s World Cup, in which they did not manage to get out of their group, Saiss largely found himself on the bench for Wolves as they readjusted to top-flight life.

But over the past few months he has cemented himself as a vital cog in the Wolves team with consistently solid displays.

Saiss is one of a large foreign contingent loving life at Molineux and, being multi-lingual, has been able to bond with his team-mates very well.

“I am in the middle. I speak with everybody in the dressing room. I have been here for three years now. I know all the English players,” he said.

“Some of the Portuguese players played in France, so we can speak English or French.

“Most of the time I speak to Willy Boly because we played together in France.

“As a group we may not all speak the same language.

“But we can speak in other languages, whether that’s Portuguese or Spanish with Jonny (Castro Otto). Or French or English.”

Saiss’s performances have made a few Moroccans into Wolves followers too.

“I am able to speak with some Moroccan guys. They are very proud of Moroccan players, especially over the last few months and years because we got back to the World Cup after 20 years,” said Saiss.

“When they can see one player playing in the Premier League they are very happy.”

And he joked: “I just need to try my best not to be too s*** for them.”