Barry Douglas has been one of the highlights of the season for Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Over the course of the 2017/18 season, Barry Douglas has been able to establish himself as one of the surprise packages of the Championship with 14 league assists to his name.
The 28-year-old’s ability to spot passes where they don’t seem to exist has made him an extremely important member of the Wolves squad, and whether it be from open play or a set piece, the Scot is lethal.
Down the left-hand side, Douglas has proven himself to be one of the most comfortable players in the league in that position, and he’s managed it during his first season of English football. That seems like an uneven progression on the face of it, and it becomes all the more interesting when you examine his career trajectory.
After spending three years as a youngster in the setup at Dundee United, Douglas made the leap abroad and transferred to Lech Poznan. The Glasgow-born player was out of his comfort zone in more ways that one, but that seems to have been what brought the best out of him.
While Scottish football may have a certain tenacity to it, the quality, even in the Premiership, isn’t quite at the same standard in comparison to leagues around Europe. Now while you could argue that’s also the case over in Poland, it needs to be taken into consideration that it’s an entirely different environment.
Douglas wouldn’t have known many people, if any when he went over there – and at the age of 23, that’s not a particularly easy thing to deal with. Thankfully, Douglas stuck it out, and the confidence he gained from playing in a regular system did wonders for him prior to his return back to the British Isles.
He also had a stint at Turkish side Konyaspor, before eventually making the switch to Molineux.
It isn’t the quality of these divisions which is important here, it’s the experience he’s gained and the confidence he has been able to generate. Once you’ve proven that you can adapt to an entirely different setup in another country, your maturity as a player will progress and you can bring things to the table which others in your position may not be able to.
Douglas knows what it’s felt like to win a league title, and with a handful of games in European football under his belt, he clearly brings something completely different to the table. Moving forward, other youngsters struggling to break into the first team on home soil should consider the possibility of making the same kind of jump.
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