Jesús Castillo – Sporting Cristal’s well-rounded midfield presence
As Sporting Cristal’s investment and trust in youth has grown, the Peruvian side have a growing number of players involved in the starting lineup as 20-year-old Jesús Castillo is one of these young players. The midfielder was utilized as an attacking midfielder at academy level as he now operates in a deeper-role as a defensive-midfielder as well as a box-to-box midfielder. Along with Percy Liza and Jhilmar Lora, he is one of three academy products who are currently fully-fledged starters with the first-team. Castillo has a phenomenal blend of physicality, mobility to mesh with a phenomenal passing range as he could develop into a high-level all-round midfield presence.
Castillo is lanky, long-limbed midfielder with a domineering physique, able to push forward and make interceptions and regain possession cleanly as the 20-year-old is incredibly confident in winning possession, be it in the pressing or counter-pressing phase in the opposition half or in the defensive phase in his own half. Even when he is playing as a box-to-box midfielder, he is tasked with dropping into the six-space to receive possession and ping accurate passes across the pitch as he can play phenomenal switch balls, roll accurate passes in between the lines and creatively lob passes into runners in behind from deep. One of his growing traits is his ability to make runs into the box to finish goalscoring opportunities as if he is played as a box-to-box midfielder more often in the future, his goalscoring record could balloon.
Away to Universidad Tecnica de Cajamarca, Castillo pushed up to receive possession in the opposition half from the left flank to take a good directional first touch before, skipping past two defenders and threading an outside of the boot pass for a teammate in the half-space. He would then show his distribution from deep, receiving possession in the six-space to thread a pass in between the lines to a teammate. Castillo’s directional first touches in tight spaces are lovely as he would move closer to the left flank to receive possession again in the six-space as before he received possession, he scanned to see a marker closing in him from behind as he guided the ball away from his marker with his first-touch while shielding the ball before playing a progressive pass into the next line. The 20-year-old would then receive possession with his right foot before evading pressure by calmly playing a pass to the flank with his weaker left foot.
He would receive possession in space in between the lines to turn and thread a pass into the nine-space before showing his impeccable first-touch again, to intercept a lobbed pass and play the ball to a teammate. Castillo thrives at doing the little things well as he tends to be at the heart of everything for Sporting Cristal, receiving possession from the centre-backs, taking touches and switching possession to the flanks, playing line-breaking passes or simple passes to construct attacking play from deep. At home to Alianza Atletico, he would switch a pass to Lora who would cross into the box for a teammate to have a header saved. Castillo is a brilliant progressive passer but also thrives in covering spaces in midfield to make interceptions and tackles while also being able to surge forward and win possession in pressing situations.
The 20-year-old is a fantastic midfield presence as at home to Carlos Manucci, he lobbed a fantastic cross into the box from the wide areas as he was dropping into the six-space to receive possession to work passes forward. He has the intelligence and technical ability to instigate attacking play from deep as well as receive possession in between the lines to connect play. He finished the game with a 93% pass succession rate with an 89% pass succession rate in the final third as well as 3 tackles in midfield. Away to Ciencano, he started the game brilliantly at the base of midfield, making tackles in the counter-press to prevent counter-attacks while also having the vision and passing range to stretch the pitch in the possession phase.
Castillo was everywhere, making blocks to regain possession before receiving possession in the ten space to work a one-two with a teammate before sending a shot wide with his right foot. He also began lofting switch passes to the right flank from the base of midfield before dropping in between the centre-backs to create a three-chain and switching the ball to the right flank which resulted in a cross for a shot on goal. The 20-year-old has a sophisticated passing range but also has an innate feel for the game, knowing when to may simpler sideways and back-passes and having the ability to identify space in the opposition defensive block to distribute the ball from deep. He received possession twice to the lay the ball off to the centre-back before receiving possession a third time to swivel and play the ball into the next line after attracting pressure. He then received possession and threaded a through ball into the channels for a teammate who was unable to get a cross into the box.
He would thread another pass into the opposition box before creating an opportunity in the game as he would receive possession in the channels to cut-back for a teammate to have a shot on goal. In modern day attacking sequences, having attacking players that can participate in interchanges in the wide areas is crucial as Castillo is very capable of doing this while one of his favoured passes is to thread passes into the channels for runners to get on the end of. He constantly picks his head up to play the same angled pass or through ball into the channels as he would utilize this manoeuvre for an overlapping fullback to have a shot saved. He finished the game with an 88% pass succession rate, completing 74% of his passes in the final third as well as creating 2 chances as this was impressive as he was predominantly playing from a deeper-lying midfield position.
Castillo started an away match against Binacional in the eight space, working a connection on the left flank before threading a beautiful pass in between the lines as he received possession twice on the half-turn to play lovely switches to the opposite flank. Castillo would receive possession in the higher areas to execute another lovely turn to thread a pass into the channels for a teammate to have a cross into the box. He also had a situation where he was too slow on the ball and lost possession in the six-space while he managed to muscle players off the ball and regain possession in the press. In the second-half, Castillo made a brilliant run into the box to receive possession and apply a finish expertly to score his side’s third goal of the game. At home to Ayacucho, he played predominantly as a box-to-box midfielder, receiving possession in between the lines, moving into the channels to receive possession and threading passes for runners as he lobbed a pass for Liza to win an aerial duel.
He then showed his potential as a box-to-box player, playing a phenomenal switch ball to the opposite flank while pushing up to calmly win a 50/50 duel in midfield as he rarely shirks a tackle. The 20-year-old did well to work connections in between the lines as he loved to receive possession and lob the ball to the flank before receiving possession and playing a pass inside. He then nearly connected possession to create a goalscoring opportunity for his side as the youngster would connect play for another high-quality opportunity as he played a one-touch pass for Liza in the channels before making a run into the box to nearly get on the end of a cross. Even as a box-to-box midfielder, he still drops into the six-space to receive possession and play passes into the wide areas as he would receive possession in the six-space again and lose possession for his side to concede a shot from range. He has the directional first touch, the dribbling and quick passing ability but there are some moments when he receives possession in the six-space that he could move the ball quicker.
He could also improve some of his directional first touches in the final third as he had a horrible first-touch to lose possession as he was still influential in combining play for his side, playing a fantastic pass into the channels to create a crossing opportunity. He received possession on the right flank to play one-touch pass before receiving the ball as he was unable to find a teammate with a through ball. He then made a brilliant interception in midfield to poke a pass to a teammate before he received possession and played another pass into the box as none of his teammates were able to get on the end of the pass. He was beaten with a dribble, but the 20-year-old used his long legs to regain possession cleanly while remaining assured in diving into 50/50 challenges, winning possession with a brilliantly timed sliding challenge in midfield.
In a top of the table clash against away to Alianza Lima, he began the game by receiving possession with his back to the opposition goal before laying off as he had opposition players pushing up to apply pressure on him as he then received possession from Lora as he attempted to work a pass into the channels for his teammate. The duo would link-up again as Castillo switched the ball to Lora on the right flank for a high-quality crossing opportunity as it was another game where he showed his impressive passing range. The 20-year-old would lob a pass in behind for a teammate as he was switching play phenomenally from the deeper areas. He was also nonchalantly rolling passes in behind for teammates he lobbed a pass in behind for Liza before he threaded a pass for Soto in between the lines to play the ball to Liza whose shot was blocked. Castillo finished the game with an 86% pass succession rate, 75% in the final third while winning 3/6 aerial duels.
Castillo is an efficient distributor of possession as well as being able to win possession back as he is a force at the base of midfield while still in the early stages of his career. The 20-year-old could develop into a defensive-midfield force or a box-to-box midfield engine as he also possesses the ability to make late runs into the box to finish opportunities. As a defensive-midfielder, he will need to be able to move the ball quicker in certain situations as well as improve his knowledge of shielding the ball and turning out of pressure as he does tend lose possession in the deeper areas. His first-touch in tighter areas in the final third as well as the opposition half will need to improve as he has the potential to receive possession in between the lines to connect play or switch the ball to act as a line-breaking passer. Defensively, in certain situations, especially when defending counter-attacks, he could focus on his positioning and forcing the opposition attacker into the wide areas instead of lunging on challenges as if he is beaten then the opposition will have space to drive into. The 20-year-old has the ability to be a high-level two-way player.
Castillo is an interesting position in that his contract expires in a few months as clubs will be able to sign him for free in January if Sporting Cristal are unable to tie him down to a new contract. The 20-year-old would represent a bargain with immense resale value especially for an MLS club as he would be an Under 22 player as well as for clubs in the Portuguese Primera Liga, Belgian Jupiler Pro League as his inclusion in Sporting Cristal’s outings could make him available to clubs in Scotland as well as the English Championship as he possesses the two-way ability to become a midfield force in those leagues. The Peruvian youngster would certainly represent a unique cost-effective opportunity for a club in the January window.
