Technical director Matt Jackson says Rafiki Said holds a unique skillset which will help make Wolves an entertaining side this coming season.
Said is an old fashion winger, which Jackson believes the Wolves squad was missing, and having watched him during his time at Grasshoppers, the technical director knows the Old Gold are signing an exciting talent who will entertain Molineux.
Jackson worked closely with head coach Cesar Peixoto and the staff behind the scenes at Compton Park to make the deal happen, and insists the timing was crucial ahead of the club’s pre-season trip to Portugal.
On bringing Said in
“We’re really pleased to add a profile that we don't have in the squad at all, a left winger who really loves attacking, loves putting crosses into the box, and contributes goals and assists. We're looking forward to him being part of the project going forward.
“We want that out and out winger profile and we want that pace. He's resilient and good in one versus one situations. We want Molineux to look as big to opposition teams as it possibly can. When you’ve got players really wide in those forward areas, it makes the picture very big, and it can be a scary place at times.”
On working with Peixoto on the deal
“Cesar had a clear idea from an early stage of the type of players he wanted, and we explored a number of options together. Rafiki quickly emerged as one of our priority targets, so I’m delighted we’ve been able to get the deal done.
“We have discussed the squad and his playing style. He'd done a very good video profile of the way that he likes his teams to play. So, we had a good, early understanding of the players he'd like and we discussed various targets, of which Rafiki was one.”
Our third addition of the summer 🇰🇲✍️ pic.twitter.com/bpsQdZR2h1
— Wolves (@Wolves) July 11, 2026
On being aware of Said
“He should work really well for us, he’s got a big smile, is very enthusiastic, and is a player that I've been aware of since I went to Grasshoppers. He was on a shortlist when I first went, and we were trying to construct a team in a very short space of time. It's been interesting to see how he's developed, a really good professional, playing international football, so he's used to big challenges.
“Players change all of the time, and he was a young, developing player there and I was looking in a completely different context at Grasshoppers. But it is interesting to see how players' careers develop in a positive fashion. He's moved around, been very enthusiastic, played a lot of minutes, which is obviously great from the learning perspective.”
On Said’s profile as a winger
“I’ve got a really good idea of how the team's going to operate, and Rafiki certainly fits the athletic and attacking profile that we require. He’s an attacking player, so we want him to be really stretching play, and be a threat off that left wing. He's very progressive, good in one versus one situations, puts good crosses in, has consistently delivered goals in the last four years and chips in with assists as well. The Belgian league is athletically tough, so we know that physically he'll be able to cope.
“We’ll be playing a back four at times this year, so we can really stretch the play. Hopefully, we'll be possession dominant, and it scares people when you have wingers who are a real threat, and he'll certainly help us with that.”
On the window changing
“We always knew that the World Cup group stages were going to delay things. The world's best players were there, and a massive amount of money was tied up in those players. Clubs didn’t know if they’d be coming back fit and well, so there’s a delay from that perspective.
“You don't want to invest massive transfer fees into somebody who is playing at the tournament and can get injured. We definitely expect to see it speed up now – teams are back in training, so they find out exactly what they've got. It’ll soon hot up again and be a pretty chaotic next couple of months.”
On the squad shape
“We've still got very, very good players left here. We obviously expect some changes going forwards, but we have the basis of a really good squad, certainly with Keiran and Raul. Kieran coming in has really set a culture for us from the first day, which we expected. I've had conversations, as have many of the staff, with Raul on his return, and what a figurehead he'll be. His performances at the World Cup have been absolutely outstanding. Now we go away to Portugal, and we'll get a great week's work in, and the lads will have even more understanding of what Cesar wants from them.
“We've had an intense few days training this week, but the boys are learning how to press in the system that Cesar wants and learning the defensive shapes and anybody that you can integrate as quickly as possible into that, the better, hence bringing Rafiki’s transfer forward to this point.”
