David Edwards: Wolves were stronger with Jonny and Doherty

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David Edwards believes that Wolverhampton Wanderers were ‘stronger’ when they had Jonny Castro Otto and Matt Doherty occupying the wing-back roles.

Jonny has been stepping up his recovery out on the grass at Compton Park, following the serious knee injury he sustained last season.

Jonny suffered an ACL injury back in training back in April, in what was a huge blow for him.

He had only just returned from a similar injury to the same knee, and had been looking good in games for Wolves.

In the Express and Star, former Molineux midfielder Edwards said he hoped Wolves could get a ‘good couple of months’ out of the 27-year-old this season.

Edwards feels that the Spanish international has been a ‘big miss’ and that Wolves have ‘never quite replaced’ the former Celta Vigo man.

Although Edwards believes that Rayan Ait-Nouri will become a ‘top player’, the Sky Sports pundit feels that the Frenchman, Marcal and Ruben Vinagre don’t ‘come near the level’ Jonny was ‘hitting consistently’ for Wolves.

Edwards doesn’t believe that the club is necessarily any better off at right wing-back with Nelson Semedo in the side, following Doherty’s departure to Tottenham last summer.

In his two seasons in the Premier League playing for Wolves, Doherty scored eight goals and made 11 assists from 74 top-flight matches.

Wolves told Doherty to Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2020 for £14.7 million (The Guardian).

Since his big-money from Barcelona, Semedo has one goal and one assist from 50 Premier League appearances.

Edwards said: “Nelson Semedo has come in with a huge reputation and is a good player, but the wing-backs are so key to the way they play and I don’t think they are as strong in those positions as when they had Jonny and Matt Doherty in the team.”

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