Young goalkeeper Louie Moulden has joined National League side Rochdale on a season-long loan ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.
The 21-year-old will embark on his third loan away from Molineux, having spent two previous spells in the fifth tier with Ebbsfleet United and Solihull Moors.
However, this is the first for an entire season and comes at a club who recently lost their EFL status for the first time in 102 years, so will look to bounce back instantly.
Moulden previously made a total of 36 appearances while away and has impressed for James Collins’ under-21s side, helping the youngsters retain their Premier League 2 Division 1 status last spring, setting him up for another opportunity to impress on loan.
Pathways manager Steve Davis said: “It’s come to the stage of Louie’s career where he needs games and a challenge. He’s been on loan before and done well, and now he’s joining a National League club which is run like a Football League club. Hopefully he excels and gets the game time to keep progressing. It’s an opportunity to spread his wings.
“He’ll get experience of fighting for a place, and you can learn a lot from not being in the team, waiting for an opportunity. There are different types of learning. Playing well consistently is what we want and that gives you Saturday-Tuesday challenges, where he can build momentum and challenge himself with recovery, and mentally handle the games – you don’t get that as much in development football.”
Since January Moulden was gaining valuable experience working with Jose Sa, Dan Bentley and Tony Roberts in the first-team set-up, experiencing the high standards in training and on a matchday, which he’ll now look to use to his advantage back in the north west.
Davis said: “As much variation as he can possibly get is crucial for his development. He’s been around first-team characters and quality, to see the level and see where he’s got to get to. He saw the intensity and has to put it into practice when he goes into games, where points matter for people to keep jobs. I’m sure Rochdale will be looking at promotion and it’s a good club, so there’s something at the end of it. Day to day training, being part of the team, is crucial.
“He’s based in Bolton, so it’ll be good for him to travel. Louie is a sound character and would settle anywhere because he’s got the personality, but it helps he’ll be able to travel in daily and be comfortable. I don’t see him having a problem settling and we hope he can really flourish there.”
