Jonny to improve Wolves defence at expense of attacking returns

New loan signing Jonny Castro (£4.5m) could increase Wolves’ clean sheet potential in 2018/19 but is unlikely to be as attack-minded as predecessor Barry Douglas.

Fantasy Premier League managers may have to turn to other options in the Wolves defence for goals and clean sheets but Jonny’s presence could bring out the best in his team-mates.

The Spaniard could also do well when it comes to the Bonus Points System.

We’ve had a detailed look at the on-loan Atletico Madrid left-back as we prepare for Gameweek 1…

THE HISTORY

24-year-old Jonny Castro is considered to have been one of the most reliable full-backs in La Liga for the last few years.

Used mostly on the left in a four-man defence at Celta Vigo, he is also capable of playing at right-back or even centre-back if needed. His strengths lie in his tackling, interceptions, strong work ethic and consistency.

During his six-year spell in Vigo’s first team, Jonny garnered experience playing at continental level as well as against Real Madrid and Barcelona on a regular basis. He was part of the group that made it to the Europa League semi-finals in 2016/17, which were knocked out by eventual champions Manchester United.

His reliable form during his Celta Vigo career earned him a permanent move to Atletico Madrid this summer, before a loan move to Wolves was completed earlier this month.

The main reason Jonny hasn’t quite been able to break into the Atletico first team is because of some high-quality competition for places. Left-back Lucas Hernandez has impressed hugely of late and went on to play a big part in winning the World Cup. The Frenchman’s back-up Filipe Luis also featured for Brazil in Russia while the options at right-back in Sime Vrsaljko and Juanfran would be hard for many to displace.

A loan move to Wolves certainly makes sense for all parties, especially with the Midlands club offloading Barry Douglas to Leeds United.

However, expecting Jonny to play a similar role in Nuno Espirito Santo’s team to Douglas would be a naive assumption. In fact, the Spaniard looks to be almost the antithesis of his predecessor. While Douglas was very much the typical modern full-back, making marauding runs up and down the left-flank and whipping balls into the box, Jonny is more the old-fashioned type. He specialises in tackles and interceptions and not much more.

THE COMPARISON

THE PROSPECTS

Jonny Castro is more likely to accrue his Fantasy points through defensive contributions than offensive ones in 2018/19. As you will see from the comparison above, his potential for goals and assists are considerably lower than his new colleagues. Only Ryan Bennett (£4.0m) managed fewer shots per game last season, and it was the same for efforts in the box too.

That’s why he managed just two goals and one assist in 2017/18 while Douglas contributed five and 14 respectively on Wolves’ way to winning the Championship. With the Scot now surprisingly moved on to Leeds United, his opposite number on the right-flank Matt Doherty (£4.5m) easily looks like the most offensive FPL defender on offer from the Wolves squad, with 0.5 shots per game and an average of one chance created. It would be hard for Jonny to match these numbers.

However, where Jonny can excel is improving Wolves’ clean sheet potential, possibly picking up some bonus points along the way. As you will see from the table above, no Wolves defender matched his interceptions per match last season – in fact, his total of 93 was better than any stopper in the Premier League in 2017/18. Meanwhile, only Willy Boly (£4.5m) won more tackles per match and only Conor Coady (£4.5m) and Bennett boasted higher pass completion.

All three of the above statistics count towards the BPS so when Wolves do keep clean sheets, which they would theoretically be more likely to with him in the team, Jonny look set to be one of the beneficiaries for additional points.

The biggest impact Jonny will have on FPL though will probably be to unlock the potential of the more attack-orientated players around him. At both Celta Vigo and in the Spain Under-21s squad he was often used to provide a defensive foundation to allow creative freedom further up the pitch. So at Wolves we could see midfield options such as Ruben Neves (£5.0m) or Joao Moutinho (£5.5m) being more involved in goals and assists knowing Jonny’s strengths. Furthermore, Doherty becomes a more attractive option as his attacking returns will now be backed up by a heightened clean sheet potential.

The only concern for Wolves could be a lack of balance in their 3-4-3 formation. If opposition players know that Jonny is unlikely to venture forward on the left but Doherty will be doing so on the right, there is an obvious area to exploit. If this is something Nuno is worried about he could deploy Jonny in the back-three, where he is capable. However, in his first pre-season appearance for Wolves, the new loan signing was used on the left of midfield.

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