NEWPORT’S Aaron Collins is set for his first game in Wolverhampton Wanderers colours tonight, with boss Kenny Jackett claiming the striker has potential to be good enough for the Championship and beyond.

Collins moved from Newport County AFC on Friday and the 18-year-old travelled with the first team squad to QPR on Saturday but didn’t feature in the match day squad.

He is in line to play for the under-21s tonight when Wolves play Aston Villa.

And Jackett said the Wales under-19 international would predominantly be with Scott Sellars’ under-21s this season.

“That’s the plan,” Jackett told the Wolverhampton Express & Star. “He has some league experience in League Two with Newport and it’ll be interesting now how he develops.

“We want to work hard with our young players, try to build them up, certainly centre forwards is an ongoing process of trying to develop forwards to be good enough for the Championship and beyond.

“We like his all-round game.

“He came on as a substitute earlier in the season against us (in a 2-1 League Cup win for Wolves at Molineux in August).

“We’ve followed him and been very positive towards bringing him here.

“He’ll initially be in the under-21s group. I would expect him to be involved against Aston Villa at Telford.”

 

Wolves’ 1-1 draw at Loftus Road saw another former County striker, Conor Washington, make his debut for QPR off the bench.

Washington, who arrived from Peterborough last week, made an immediate impact after his introduction.

The 23-year-old found space near the left-hand edge of the penalty area and teed up fellow substitute Tjaronn Chery, who fired against the post.

“We have high hopes for Conor – that’s why we brought him to the club,” said Rangers manager Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink.

“We needed someone who was different. He plays more on the shoulder and is that man who wants to run in behind.

“And Conor has that beautiful thing that you can’t teach as a coach: that hunger for goals.”

Hasselbaink says he will consider starting with Washington and Sebastian Polter up front together.

“It’s a possibility,” he added. “At the moment we only have two out-and-out strikers at the club and that’s Polter and Conor.

“Yes, they can play together. We just have to look at the dynamic of it and who we are playing against.”