Jeremy Helan can’t wait to get going for Wolves following his loan move from Sheffield Wednesday until the end of the season.
The Frenchman trained with his new team-mates for the first time yesterday ahead of a potential debut in tomorrow’s televised tussle with Derby County at Molineux (12.30pm).
Helan said: “We had a really good training session, I liked the intensity.
“I don’t know all of the names yet but there are some good players, I won’t name anyone in case I miss one or two out but there are some good players here.
“I’ve played against them a couple of times over the last couple of years, even this season I came on [as a substitute]. But now I’m playing with them and it’s a different story.”
Helan is in line to make his debut tomorrow’s match and, despite the team’s current bad patch and injury list, he sees no reason why he and his new team-mates cannot upset the form book and claim all three points.
He said: “It’s time to change it around! We can turn it around and we can do things. As I can see there are some good players at the club and I don’t think the quality is missing.
“Sometimes you go through phases where it’s difficult but I think it will come to an end, everything comes to an end at [some point] so we just have to stay focused and I’m confident that we’ll turn it over.
“They [Derby] have turned it around, they couldn’t win and now they’ve had two wins on the bounce.
“That’s a good example for us and hopefully we can do the same as them, starting from this weekend.”
Helan’s versatility is one of the many reasons why Wolves were so keen to bring him to Molineux.
He is a left footed player who is capable of playing at either left back or on the left of midfield, so the question is which is his preferred position?
“It’s one of them if you have a good game then like that one more than the other,” he quipped.
“But seriously I just focus, and in either position I play I have got to give my best and try to perform - that’s the best way to go about it.
“This is something I’ve developed over the years, playing left back or left midfield is something that helps a lot, in the team there is normally someone who can play in both positions which is good.”
Helan has been playing in England since 2009, when he joined Manchester City’s Elite Development Squad from Stade Rennais,.
He would go on to make one senior appearance for City, as an extra time substitute in a League Cup tie with Aston Villa in 2012. Whilst at the Etihad he also worked with current Wolves Under 21 coach Scott Sellars, while he has also known Nouha Dicko since the pair were teenagers back in France.
In 2011 he joined Carlisle United on a month’s loan, and a year later would go on to make three appearances on loan at Shrewsbury Town.
A month after his loan spell at Shrewsbury, Helan then joined Wednesday initially on loan, before his move was made permanent in January 2013. He would go on to make 98 appearances for the Owls scoring three goals.
He has been on Head Coach Kenny Jackett’s radar for quite some time, and previously interested Wolves before his move to Hillsborough was made permanent in July, 2013.
And now Helan is keen to repay the faith shown in him by the club and Jackett who was a big influence in the move to Molineux.
Helan said: “I wasn’t getting many games or 90 minutes and then I had some contact from them and they said they were keen to get me on loan, from there it just went smoothly.
“I knew him [Jackett] as he’s been here a long time, and I’d spoken to him and knew what he thought of me and what he wanted to do with me so it was an easy decision to take.
“I had some contact with Wolves even before I signed for Sheffield Wednesday, they were one of the clubs that I could have signed for.
“When a club has had interest in you from the past and that they still have that interest, it means they really like you and that helps and gives you the confidence to go on.
“Obviously they showed faith in me by bringing me in and I have to give 100% - that’s the minimum I can do for the club, staff and for the fans.
“I know they’re very good fans in Sheffield and hopefully they’ll be the same here.”
