By the numbers: How Jonny Castro Otto has become a vital cog for Wolves

But since the Premier League’s restart, the Spaniard even seems to have moved things up a level.

Now a dangerous attacking force as well as a dependable defensive presence, Otto has really caught the eye on the left flank.

And here, we are going over his impressive stats for the season so far.

Tackles

Otto may not be the most physically-imposing player on Wolves’ books, but he is certainly the most fierce.

Despite only being 5ft 7in, the left-wing-back is always quite content with putting his body on the line and flying into challenges.

He is one of the most productive players around when it comes to tackling, too.

Across Wolves’ 32 top-flight games this term, Otto has made 86 tackles.

That puts him top of the club pile – one ahead of Joao Moutinho – and fifth in the Premier League.

He also has a tackle success rate of 59 per cent.

Naturally, being a committed defender, Otto has picked up a few yellow cards along the way.

But with four, he is all the way down in joint 83rd when it comes to the most cautions in the league.

So, you cannot call him dirty. He is firm but fair.

Interceptions

Otto does not only win the ball back for Wolves directly from other players either.

The 26-year-old also had a handy knack of intercepting opposition passes.

Although not quite as prolific at it as he is with tackling, he is still in the upper echelons of the league in this area.

With 51 interceptions, Otto – again – tops the Wolves chart, while Ruben Neves (46) is second and Moutinho (42) third.

And for the whole of the Premier League, he is joint 14th.

Just for a bit of context, Leicester’s Wilfred Ndidi has the most, with 67.

When it comes to regaining possession, Otto is crucial for Wolves.

Dribbling

As mentioned a few times over the course of this season, Otto has made pretty big strides when it comes to attacking as well.

Do not get me wrong, he is not prolific when it comes to scoring or creating goals – coming up with one goal and two assists this campaign – but he has made a marked improvement going forward.

And perhaps what backs that notion up the most is his dribbling stats.

Almost afraid to cross the halfway line when he first arrived at the club, Otto is now one of Wolves’ most effective players when running with the ball.

Adama Traore is the best dribbler in Europe, let alone at Wolves, so Otto does not come close to him.

He is fifth on the club list for successful dribbles, though, and that is no small feat.

With 27, Otto ranks above fellow wing-back Matt Doherty, who is sixth 22.

And the only players above the Spaniard are the graceful Pedro Neto, striking sensation Raul Jimenez, relentless Diogo Jota and by-far-the-best Traore. Decent stuff.

Key passes

Otto also ranks pretty high among the Wolves lot when it comes to key passes – passes that lead to a shot at goal from a team-mate.

Perhaps the biggest surprise is that he finds himself higher than midfield maestro Neves.

Otto, over the course of the campaign, has made 22 key passes – putting himself fifth on the club list – while Neves is sixth with 21.

Otto has also managed five more than Doherty on the opposite flank.

And in terms of passing as a whole, he is still fairly high.

With 922, he is Wolves’ seventh-best, with all those above him managing more than 1,000. He is also seventh on the club list for headers won.

So, ultimately, the stats prove what most of us think about Otto – that he is a brilliant, selfless all-round player.