Luke Woolfenden

Woolfenden defends without much fuss, clearing danger early and rarely getting drawn into duels he does not actually need to have. Years learning his trade at one club gave him a positional discipline that now lets him fill in comfortably at right back whenever his manager needs the flexibility, without any noticeable drop in his defensive reliability. He experienced both promotion and relegation across a long apprenticeship.

The tension around a defender who values simplicity is whether that same instinct becomes a limitation against Premier League forwards who punish a purely reactive centre back far more severely than most Championship strikers managed. Woolfenden has never been the type to take unnecessary risks in possession, preferring the safer option even when a more ambitious pass is available. Watch whether that caution starts to look like a weakness as the level rises.