Sam Pickering looks at Wolves new left back Barry Douglas career so far and what he will bring to Wolves
The career of recent signing Barry Douglas has been an unusual one to say the least.
Making his way through the ranks in his homeland, the Glaswegian was initially released by Livingston as a teenager before joining Queen’s Park one year later and becoming a first team regular.
In a Queen’s team relegated to the then Scottish Third Division in 2009, Douglas shone and finished the season as top scorer with nine goals; no wonder they were relegated.
As a full back, that is an impressive statistic at any level.
For Wolves, a team known to utilise wing play, be it with full backs or straight up wingers, it is an attribute that they can make use of.
In June 2010 he signed with Dundee Utd, before moving onto Polish club Lech Poznań three years later.
He continued to broaden his experience by signing for Turkish Süper Lig team Konyaspor in 2016.
The next logical step was obviously Wolverhampton Wanderers…
It is well documented that Douglas has a wand of a left peg (Barry Potter anyone? No?), and has a penchant for direct and indirect set pieces.
I think we can all agree this is a useful asset to have in the arsenal.
Wolves do have a few players who can be more than reliable from dead ball situations, but hey, a little competition never hurt anyone.
He has already bagged an assist in the pre-season friendly vs Viktoria Plzen, crossing the ball to set up Nouha Dicko for a simple tap in.
Alongside fellow new signing Willy Boly, Matt Doherty and Ivan Cavaleiro, he is one of the only players to start in all three games on the Austrian tour.
It may only be pre-season, but what the fans have seen of the team so far is encouraging, and Douglas’ ability has been noted.
With Ivan Cavaleiro playing in front of him and naturally cutting inside, Douglas hugs the touchline, stretching play when Wolves are in possession and even in a handful of friendlies it has been the route to goals.
Unlike other fullbacks we’ve had at Wolves, he doesn’t get a nosebleed every time he is in the final third.
If Douglas can replicate what we know Doherty is capable of as a full back, bombing it down the wing and looking like a threat, Wolves will have reliable options on both sides.
In the 2014/15 season, Dominic Iorfa looked very promising at full back and certainly wasn’t afraid to get forward, but the lack of end product was noticeable.
Now that he is on loan at Ipswich, this gives Doherty the chance to return to his favoured right back role.
Hopefully Nuno will utilise the strengths of the Double D in a 3-4-3, allowing the wing backs to overlap the wingers to provide a lot more attacking potency.
With three at the back to cover them both, it should provide some reassurance.
Since Silvio wasn’t retained by Wolves, fans were crying out for a left back to be signed.
For a fee of £1 million, it looks like our prayers have been answered.
You’d put good money on Nuno starting Douglas against Middlesbrough, but with three more pre-season friendlies left to play first, there is still time to see how he will fit into Nuno’s plans.
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