'Wolves helped shape my entire life': The MLS forward on his Wolves experience and big future dreams

At 23, he has already encountered numerous challenges in pursuit of his dream of being a professional footballer.  Challenges which have continued to shape both his ability and personality.

That included five-and-a-half years spent on the books at Wolves, which began with a scholarship in the Academy, and progressed to the first team set-up, and a treasured Premier League debut away at Tottenham - Harry Kane, Gareth Bale, Son Heung-Min and all.

As a result of several loan spells during his career, particularly while at Wolves, he has already represented eight clubs at senior level. Despite still being in his early twenties. But hopefully, and most importantly, with plenty more appearances to come.

He is currently, perhaps ironically given his extensive travelling across both the UK and Europe on his footballing odyssey, back on home soil, very close to where it all started, playing for Toronto FC in Major League Soccer.

But those memories of Wolves, whom he left permanently for Granada in La Liga in January of last year, are still easily recalled.

“Ah that accent,” he says at the start of the conversation, in advance of Toronto taking on Dean Smith’s Charlotte FC last weekend.

“It’s been a while since I heard one of those.”

And there is still plenty of talk of all things Molineux within the camp at Toronto, accents or otherwise, as one of Wolves’ cult heroes Neil Emblen is on the Canadian club’s coaching staff.

“Neil was the first coach I spoke to when I came back to Toronto,” says Corbeanu.

“He’s a great guy and we’ve got a great relationship and speak all the time.

“There are constant references about Wolves and our memories of our time there and he lived in Tettenhall which wasn’t too far away from where I was.

“So, we have a lot of those sorts of conversations!”

If the likes of Emblen and other senior figures within football have helped Corbeanu during his career to date, there is one influence who has been particularly important.

Family.  And, especially, his older brother Radu.

Both Corbeanu’s parents were born in Romania, coming to Canada in 1999 with Radu, with Theo then born three years later.

Growing up in Hamilton, at a time when other sports such as hockey, basketball and baseball were greater in the national consciousness, Corbeanu was always properly into football, helped in no small part by his brother.

And then later, when as a young man still in his teenage years, Corbeanu was understandably struggling to settle into life in England and at Wolves Academy, family came to the fore.

Whilst his Dad stayed at home to work in Canada, his Mum and brother came over to spend several weeks in Wolverhampton, helping the young player acclimatise to make the most of his opportunity.

At the visit’s conclusion, at something of a ‘summit meeting’ held on one of the benches in the Mander Centre, it was agreed that Radu would stay on, pretty much indefinitely, to support Theo’s career.  A real-life band of brothers.

“It was about four months in, and I was really struggling to adapt to a new culture,” Corbeanu.

“It had been my dream to come over to England, and I was living with a lovely host family, but I just wasn’t enjoying the football, and had lost my confidence.

“I was talking to my family and was ready to go home if I’m honest, and that is when they came over and spent some time with me.

“I will never forget the end of that, and my Mum asking my brother if he could see himself living over here, because I could think of nothing better.

“I missed my family so much and I missed him – we have always been so close as brothers and I was so happy he decided to stay.

“As soon as that happened, and I had a family member with me, everything changed, and I came back to form.

“I started playing well, scoring goals, and I finally felt that Wolverhampton could become my home.”

Initially of course, it was Canada that was Corbeanu’s home, not just geographically, but in football as well.

At times as a youngster he played as a goalkeeper, more out of fun than anything, but his ability as a forward-thinking midfielder, comfortable with both feet, soon marked him out as an attacking prospect with plenty of potential.

Initially part of Toronto FC’s pre-academy, from Under-10 to Under-12 level, ultimately the hefty twice-weekly commute for training and games became too much, so he returned to playing local football.

Within that however, a well-connected coach offered the opportunity to go on trial with several clubs in Europe, including PSV Eindhoven, Fulham and some showcase tournaments in Spain.