Tendayi Darikwa

Darikwa spent his early career as a winger before he was moved back into defence, and the conversion never fully erased the attacker in him. He still looks for the overlap first, arriving late into the box when a full back with a purely defensive background would already be jogging back into position. That instinct for the final third makes him a genuine outlet down the right rather than a full back who simply stops crosses.

Wearing the armband adds another layer, because captaining from right back means reading the whole pitch rather than just his own flank. The tension is obvious to anyone watching closely, since every forward run leaves space in behind that a quicker winger can exploit if he times his own captaincy duties wrong. Lincoln trust him to know exactly when to gamble and when to simply stay home.