WHILE West Brom have had a disastrous start to their Championship campaign, former Millwall attacker Jed Wallace has arguably been their standout player so far this season.
The 28-year-old has already scored three goals and provided a further two assists, making him the Baggies joint-top scorer after 15 league games.
The Athletic‘s West Brom reporter, Elias Burke, spoke to NewsAtDen about Wallace and his expectations for what the mercurial forward could bring to The Hawthorns after his free transfer in the summer.
“Obviously he comes with such a massive reputation in the Championship, he’s done it for so many years,” he explained.
“You look at his goal and assist numbers for the last three or four years, you know you’re going to get someone at this level who can contribute. He’s one of the best creators, one of the best set-piece takers, all that kind of stuff, which Albion were kind of struggling with last season. It was a big problem with Val [Ismael] and Steve Bruce as well about the creativity issue.
“Bringing him along with his mate John Swift, we thought that we’d go some way to addressing that issue really. I’m super excited about that one really and he comes with such a massive character as well, which is so important. That’s another thing that Albion were missing out on last season, big characters in the dressing room and people that can inspire younger players and set standards, which he’s obviously done for a few years at Millwall as well.
“He ticked all the boxes in that respect.”
It would be easy to judge his time in the West Midlands based on West Brom’s poor performances, but the reality is that Wallace’s talent and effort have helped his side avoid an even more embarrassing start to the campaign than they already have.
“If there’s anyone really that you can point to as a saving grace in Albion’s poor start to the season, it would be him along with Grady Diangana as well.
“It’s just his intensity and willingness to run after every ball, play to every whistle. His delivery from wide areas is always excellent, tracking back he’s always perfect. Obviously he’s such a vocal presence and a leader both on and off the field. He’s been excellent to be honest.
“As I said, West Brom’s season hasn’t been too good as of right now and they’ve sacked Steve Bruce because of it, but he’s someone that’s almost immediately become a fan favourite. It’s definitely not someone that the supporters are looking at as part of the reason why Albion have struggled so far.
“He’s someone that we’re really excited about and someone that we see contributing to a winning team moving forward.”
In fact, his performances may have been even better if he was playing in a better system. Former boss Steve Bruce was clearly not playing to his strengths, and supporters are hopeful that his replacement will be able to get Wallace playing at his very best once again.
“If you look at how many goals Albion have scored, they’re not too far away from the top teams in the league really. They consistently score goals, they’ve only played out one goalless draw this season and they’ve only failed to score on a few occasions as well.
“I’d say sometimes with the tactics that it was just a bit muddled and perhaps not as coherent as it might have been. Obviously we know how good his delivery from wide areas is, but he was putting in crosses to 5’8, 5’9 strikers.
“I’ve noticed in the past couple of weeks that he’s moved inside a little bit as Albion have gone to a three-at-the-back. That might be something where he plays in the inside right position rather than so wide right. He can kind of get closer to goal as well and make those inside right crosses into the strikers, like someone like [Kevin] De Bruyne who can bend them in as well, I know he’s been doing that on a few occasions.
“That’s something that you look to and say ‘okay, that suits Albion’s players better’. Then of course if you’re playing three-at-the-back, you’re playing wing-backs, so you can get some width from someone like Matt Phillips, which means he can come further inside as well and maybe add some more goals to his game.
“I wouldn’t complain about him. From an attacking perspective, Albion haven’t been awful. They’ve performed below their xG but they’re still scoring goals and he’s a big part of the reason why.”
Saturday’s match will be his first time back at The Den since leaving Millwall over the summer, and Wallace is fully prepared for a hostile reception when he arrives back in SE16.
Last week, he posted a tweet saying that he expected “90 minutes of dogs abuse… followed by a small clap after the game if you want” [sic], highlighting that his character and attitude will undoubtedly see him embrace the challenge as he looks to end his former side’s winning run.
“That tweet just speaks to the character that he is to be honest. He knows full well that, when you come in as an opposing player, no matter how much you’re respected by the Millwall abuse, you’ll be subject to dog’s abuse as he said.
“I’ve got no doubts that he’ll put in a massive display at The Den just to shut them up maybe! He’s a top character and I’m sure whoever the manager is will get the best out of him this week. I doubt he’ll need much motivation.”
Photo: Millwall FC