Gary O’Neil has confirmed that Jonny Castro Otto is very close to leaving Wolves, with reports suggesting he’ll sign for PAOK.
It was reported last night that an agreement had been reached between Wolves and the Greek giants for the player to move on a free transfer.
Jonny, of course, has not been involved for Wolves since news surfaced that he was involved in a training ground incident, with the club then banishing him from the first-team.
The club have been looking to offload him this month – and that is now about to come to pass…
Gary O’Neil provides transfer update on Jonny amid reports he’s leaving Wolves to join PAOK
The writing has been on the wall for Jonny since the club decided to banish him from the first-team.
The club put the ban in place until the end of January, pretty much indicating that the club were going to try and offload him.
Liam Keen said on the latest E&S podcast that permanent transfer offers just haven’t been forthcoming for the player and so, Wolves are now set to sanction his exit for free, despite him having a contract until the summer of 2025.
Amid the speculation, O’Neil said of Jonny today (via E&S): “Jonny is close to agreeing a deal, which will be good for him to go and play as he hasn’t played regularly for a while.”
Despite the details of the training ground incident, O’Neil was keen to talk about Jonny in a positive light, referencing his early years at the club.
“It’s really important to remember what an incredible player he was for the club in some extremely successful times,” he added.
“It looks likely he will leave us this month and if it turns out that financially we can’t add any, I don’t foresee too many others leaving. People will have to stay and make up the numbers for us.”
Jonny was amazing before his injuries
Jonny looks certain to be moving on given the recent reports and what O’Neil has said today.
It really is a sad end to his Wolves career, because at one point the £35,000-a-week man was one of the best players at Molineux.
He became a huge favourite shortly after joining on an initial loan deal from Atletico Madrid, operating as a left wing-back under Nuno Espirito Santo. Jonny was such a reliable player for Wolves, but things started to go downhill after his injury problems.
He suffered two ACL injuries during his time at the club, and sadly never got back to the levels he showed beforehand.
Hopefully, he can turn over a new leaf at PAOK. At the age of 29, there are still plenty of years left for him in his playing career.