Local journalist claims cameo performance v Blues will do West Brom ace ‘world of good’
West Brom returned to Championship action with a 0-0 draw against Birmingham, as Slaven Bilic unleashed his full-strength squad.
The Baggies welcomed back the likes of Grady Diangana and Keiran Gibbs to the fold on Saturday but couldn’t manage to score the all-important winner.
Diangana completed 31 minutes, his first piece of action since January in the 1-0 defeat against Stoke City at the Hawthorns.
Express and Star journalist Joseph Masi has claimed that these minutes will be great for Diangana between now and the end of the season.
“It was always going to be hard for Diangana to live up to the expectation surrounding his return,” he wrote in his player ratings report.
“His lack of match sharpness showed but the minutes will do him the world of good.”
Diangana came on but struggled to create much for his side as they pushed for the winner in the Midlands derby.
The 22-year-old had two shots on goal and completed two key passes according to WhoScored, much better than Matt Phillips who started the game.
Phillips also completed a couple of key passes, but only managed one more shot on goal despite being on the pitch for double the amount of time in the goalless draw.
Diangana has been one of the Baggies’ brightest stars this season, and his injury put a doubt to his career at the Hawthorns, with the lockdown giving him a second chance of pushing the club to the Premier League.
In other West Brom news, Bilic has detailed what he expects from Brentford as he prepares his squad for the massive clash on Friday
Be sure to follow West Brom News on Facebook and Twitter for 24/7 updates on the Baggies and more exclusive interviews with Kevin Phillips.