Nelson Semedo faces real fight to regain Wolves starting berth
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Aston Villa - Premier League
Photo by Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

Nelson Semedo faces real fight to regain Wolves starting berth

Nelson Semedo returned to the bench for Wolves against Aston Villa – and it’s a place he might have to get used to.

The wing-back has missed around a month for Wanderers after sustaining a hamstring injury against Arsenal.

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It was a big blow at the time, with Semedo having been in fantastic form.

Arguably, he had never been playing better in Wolves colours since his move from Barcelona.

With Ki-Jana Hoever also picking up an injury against Crystal Palace, it meant Jonny Castro Otto would be Bruno Lage’s go-to man.

And the Spaniard has been getting better and better over the past few weeks.

The 28-year-old appears to have put those two serious knee injuries firmly behind him, and is playing fantastically as a right wing-back.

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Of course, Jonny is naturally right-footed. But he has mostly played as a left wing-back during his time at Molineux.

People talk about Semedo’s attacking qualities all the time.

But Jonny now has two goals in two games for Wolves. And they were both really good finishes.

It is very possible that Semedo may have to bide his time before he starts starting again.

Jonny does not deserve to be be dropped for Wolves

It is so good to see Jonny playing so well again given the hugely frustrating time he’s had over the past couple of years.

He’s doing brilliantly over on that right side, and simply put he does not deserve to be dropped.

It’s obviously great news that Semedo is back. But it is surely sending out the wrong message to put him back in in place of someone who is shining.

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It’s possible Lage will consider moving Jonny over to the left. But then, Fernando Marcal played really well against Villa, and Rayan Ait-Nouri is also a solid option to play there.

It could just be that Semedo will have to wait for a sub-par display from Jonny before he can start again.