The seemingly inevitable appointment of Julen Lopetegui as Bruno Lage’s replacement at Wolverhampton Wanderers promises to bring less revolution, and more evolution.
The former Sevilla boss, sacked by the La Liga giants following Wednesday’s home humbling by a Jude Bellingham-inspired Borussia Dortmund, shares Lage’s preference for possession-based football and controlled, steady build-up play.
Only Barcelona and Real Madrid averaged more of the ball than Sevilla in La Liga last term, after all.
One thing he does seem certain to change, however, is Wolves’ formation. Lage flipped from a defensive-quartet to a defensive-trio and back again during his 16 months at Molineux. Lopetegui, meanwhile, set Sevilla up in a back-three for all but eight of his 170 games in charge of Sevilla.
Presuming he maintains his preference for a 4-2-3-1 system in England – with the highly-promising Max Kilman and Nathan Collins potentially becoming his Old Gold answer to Diego Carlos and Jules Kounde – question can already be asked about the future of one of the club’s longest-serving players.
Does Jonny Castro Otto have a future at Julen Lopetegui’s Wolves?
Jonny Castro Otto, during the last four-and-a-bit seasons, has been something of a load-bearing pillar in the house that Nuno Espirito Santo built.
The former Atletico Madrid man was, in many ways, emblematic of Nuno’s favoured wing-back system. One of the first names on the team sheet until his injury-hit 2020/21 season; playing almost exclusively at left-wing back. And playing rather well, for the most part.
“We’re really pleased with Jonny,” Nuno said back in 2018. “The way he’s adapted himself here, we are very pleased.
“He’s a really good option for us. And I’ve very glad he’s joined us in a long contract.”
Jonny was brought in from Spanish football with a wing-back a role in mind back in 2018. And, for much of the Nuno era, he performed his duties with a reliable, 7/10-week-in-week-out sort of dependability.
Now, with Lopetegui seemingly on his way (talkSPORT say that Wolves will open ‘formal talks’ with the former Real Madrid and Spain boss), Jonny finds himself at the mercy of a double-edged sword.
A new era at Molineux
He simply looks ill-suited to Lopetegui’s flat-back four. One likely to consist of more attack-minded, swashbuckling full-backs a la Nelson Semedo and Rayan Ait-Nouri. Furthermore, Jonny could also hardly have picked a worse time to let his form desert him. The 28-year-old has been a shadow of his former self this term.
And, unless he wishes to become an early victim of the Lopetegui era, Jonny should waste no time prepare himself for a new role and a new regime.
According to the BBC, Lopetegui is Wolves’ clear first choice at this stage. He came close to taking over back in 2016, before opting for the Spanish national team job. As such, on the back of those talks, Lopetegui retains a good relationship with Wolves chairman Jeff Shi.
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