Denil Castillo: Profile, playing style, scouting report

The Ecuadorian is close to joining Ukrainian giants Shakhtar Donetsk

Denil Castillo, a gifted midfielder from Ecuador who plays for LDU Quito, is close to signing with Ukrainian Shakhtar Donetsk. He was born in 2004. Castillo was also mentioned with Benfica, but Shakhtar are close to completing the acquisition of the player.

Who is Denil Castillo?

Castillo, a 19-year-old holding midfielder, has played 17 times for Ecuador's U-20 national team. Castillo graduated from LDU Quito and spent the 2020 season on loan with Atlético Keene.

Castillo mostly competes with the LDU Quito under-19 team, appearing in 15 games for them in 2022. The 18-year-old also represents Ecuador as a youth international under 20. Denil Castillo has a lot of areas to improve, but if properly guided, he has a lot of promise.

Playing style of Denil Castillo

Despite being tall and thin, Castillo possesses excellent footwork and is somewhat nimble. Also, he starts out quickly and keeps that speed across a wide range of distances. But, the midfielder has to strengthen his body and legs because he occasionally loses to stronger opponents in physical battles. Castillo can take the ball from the rival in some ground battles because to his long legs, but it's critical that he bulks up to be more efficient in these battles.

The young Ecuadorian player plays with a lot of defensive vigour, is generally well-positioned, and makes wise choices. Denil Castillo has a good mental attitude and is able to gather himself after committing an error.

The young Ecuadorian player typically spends a lot of time with the ball. His technique is currently too uneven for him to play a significant amount for the first team, though. Castillo occasionally makes dubious choices while in control.

Denil Castillo does occasionally dribble past his opponent utilising his quickness, agility, and outstanding footwork, but other times he finds it difficult to keep control of the ball while dribbling. Both his short and long passings are comparable. While he is still too inconsistent, he has the potential to stretch the play or play strong passes into the assault.