Wolves under-21s defender Marvin Kaleta has secured his first loan move away from Compton Park after penning a season-long deal with Scottish Premiership side Motherwell.
The 19-year-old, who joined Wolves as a schoolboy from Manchester City during the 2020/21 campaign, was voted by his under-21s teammates as their Player of the Season last time out after impressing on a consistent basis for James Collins’ side.
After making the full-time step up from the under-18s at the start of 2023/24, Kaleta made 27 appearances in all competitions for the Premier League 2 youngsters, with only Aaron Keto-Diyawa and Matty Whittingham clocking up more.
Now, the defender will follow similar footsteps as fellow Old Gold right-back Dexter Lembikisa, who spent the second half of the last campaign north of the border with Hearts.
Managed by Stuart Kettlewell, Motherwell finished eighth in the Scottish Premiership last season and pathways manager Steve Davis has explained that Kaleta will need to prove he has what it takes to make the step into a highly competitive division.
“Marvin was one of the most consistent under-21 players last season, particularly during the first half of the season,” Davis said. “He’s probably ready for that opportunity to go and see if he can be consistent in what we know is a very tough league.
“Dexter’s (Lembikisa) been up there, Fabio (Silva) went up there and we know how good and competitive that league is. It will be a tough one for him but let’s see how he faces the challenge.
“He’s got to prove himself game-by-game, that’s the first thing he’s got to do – be available and build some momentum in terms of his physicality and fitness and get through the intensity of the games. Any young player stepping up will have the same challenge and Marvin’s no different.
“What he gives is pace and power, the ability to get up the pitch quickly and really good one v one defending – he’s reliable in that aspect.”
And Davis has referenced Lembikisa’s loan last season as a prime example of using the experience to ride through some tough moments and come out the other side of it having made strides and clear progress as a player.
“He’ll know when he gets up there that the standard’s very high and the demands will be very high on him,” Davis continued. “It’s his first real taste of men’s football and it’s coming in an extremely competitive league, so he will have to roll his sleeves up and dig in at times. It’s a test of his character as well.
“Dexter had some difficult moments but a terrific loan up at Hearts, so we know what can be done if they can apply themselves and really challenge themselves. It’s down to him now to prove that he can hold his own in that division.
“We’ll learn where he is and he’ll learn where he is as well quite quickly. We’ll support him while he’s up there. We don’t know how he’s going to do but that sort of opportunity doesn’t come around often at that level for your first loan. We think it’s a great one for him and hopefully he’ll do well up there.”
