West Bromwich Albion needed to be busy in the January transfer window because of the position that they have found themselves in at the moment.
The Baggies are currently 22nd in the Championship table, in the bottom three on goal difference, with 16 matches left to play before the end of the season.
Eric Ramsay, who has lost three of his four matches in charge so far, was given the chance to bolster his squad towards the end of the window with the additions of Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba and Hindolo Mustapha on loan from Aston Villa and Crystal Palace respectively.
Both players are young and hungry talents who are looking for a taste of regular first-team football for the first time, which will, hopefully, mean that they are up for the right and are keen to hit the ground running.
West Brom need both of them to adapt to Championship football as quickly as possible because the Baggies need to start stringing wins together if they want to avoid the drop.
Where Jimoh-Aloba and Mustapha could fit into West Brom’s starting XI
Whether you agree with the use of it or not, it looks like Ramsay’s 3-4-2-1 system is here to stay for the second half of the season at The Hawthorns.
The signings of Jimoh-Aloba and Hindolo Mustapha point to a continuation of that formation because they are both predominantly attacking midfielders who want to play in central areas, and the manager’s formation has two central tens behind a striker, which means that they could both play.
In an ideal world, they both hit the ground running and show that they can deliver consistent performances in the Championship, making the starting XI as the two attacking midfielders behind Aune Heggebo.
|
Predicted West Brom XI |
|
|---|---|
|
Position |
Player |
|
GK |
Max O’Leary |
|
CB |
Mepham |
|
CB |
Phillips |
|
CB |
Taylor |
|
RWB |
Imray |
|
CM |
Diakite |
|
CM |
Molumby |
|
LWB |
Johnston |
|
AM |
Mustapha |
|
AM |
Jimoh-Aloba |
|
CF |
Heggebo |
Jimoh-Aloba, who started his youth career with West Brom, has scored one goal in six senior matches for Aston Villa, and produced 11 goals and eight assists in 37 U21 matches for the Villans.
Mustapha, meanwhile, is yet to make a senior appearance in his career. He has, though, scored 18 goals and provided 18 assists in 64 matches for Palace at U18 and U21 level combined.
These statistics show that both players have shown promise as attacking midfielders at academy level. It is now down to them to prove that they can do it in the Championship, as a former West Brom youth product has.
Former West Brom star is a bigger talent than Jimoh-Aloba and Mustapha
The Baggies have had some excellent players come through their youth ranks over the years, including current Southampton star Tom Fellows and England international Morgan Rogers, who is one of the top players in the Premier League Power Rankings for Aston Villa at the moment.
There is another player, though, who left the club in 2021, who is now a bigger talent than both Jimoh-Aloba and Mustapha, and that is Finn Azaz.
The Irish attacking midfielder came up through the youth ranks at West Brom, playing 57 times for the U23s, before he left to join Aston Villa for an undisclosed fee in the summer of 2023.
It did not work out for Azaz with Aston Villa, as he went on loan to Plymouth Argyle before joining permanently, and he has since had spells with Middlesbrough and now Southampton.
The Saints signed the Ireland international from Middlesbrough for a fee of £12m last summer, and he scored his seventh goal for the club in the Championship this season against Stoke City last weekend.
Azaz, who was once described as a “beautiful” footballer by journalist Josh Bunting, has delivered 31 goals and 26 assists in the Championship since the start of the 2023/24 campaign for Plymouth, Boro, and Southampton combined.
Prior to his move to the Saints for big money last summer, the 25-year-old midfield magician was up there with West Brom star Fellows for the most assists in the second tier.
|
Most assists in 24/25 Championship |
|
|---|---|
|
Player |
Assists |
|
Josh Murphy |
14 |
|
Tom Fellows |
14 |
|
Manor Solomon |
12 |
|
Jack Rudoni |
12 |
|
Finn Azaz |
11 |
The £12m-rated star has consistently shown that he can provide quality at the top end of the pitch on a regular basis, as both a scorer and a creator of goals.
Azaz is delivering at senior level what Mustapha and Jimoh-Aloba have offered in academy football and are hoping to bring to West Brom for the second half of the season.
He is essentially the finished product of what they hope to become in the game as attacking midfielders, which is why he is currently a bigger talent than them, and a player the Baggies must wish they had at their disposal in this relegation battle.
West Brom may have just signed their next Morgan Rogers
West Bromwich Albion may finally have their own Morgan Rogers in this talented young starlet.
