View: Why Bilic is right to call out underperforming star
Perhaps more than any other West Brom player, Romaine Sawyers has struggled to replicate his Championship form in the Premier League.
One of the Baggies best players last season, Sawyers has seen Filip Krovinovic and Conor Gallagher preferred to him in the centre of the park in recent weeks.
At his best, the St Kitts and Nevis international can control the midfield and dictate the pace of play, and this became a regular sight last season.
However, his drop off this year has been significant. Last season, Sawyers attempted 62.4 passes per game on average in the Championship, with a completion rate of 90%. While only providing one assist, he averaged 0.9 key passes per match, as well as making 1.4 tackles a game (via WhoScored).
In his five appearances so far this term though, the 28-year-old has attempted an average of 26.4 passes per game, a massive reduction on last season. Of those attempts, he is completing 84.1% and generating just 0.4 key passes per match. His tackling stats are down too, 0.6 a game on average, although he has made more interceptions per match (via WhoScored).
After starting the first four matches of the campaign, Bilic dropped the midfielder to the bench for the meeting with Burnley at The Hawthorns and he has played just 11 Premier League minutes since.
When asked about Sawyers this week, it was clear that the Croatian is desperate for him to re-find his very best form.
“We have extra competition, but we need Romaine. We need good Romaine, we need the Romaine who can dominate the games,” Bilic explained (via The Birmingham Mail).
“That’s what we want from him. We want him how he played last season, especially in the first half of last season, in the Championship where he was – from my point of view – the best midfielder in the league.”
These quotes really tell the story of what has been a baptism of fire for Sawyers in the Premier League.
Given his quality, there is no reason he cannot re-establish himself as club’s best midfielder and a dominant playmaker. His coach will hope that these words of warning help bring it out of him, but until he finds some better form, he may find it tough to secure a place in the starting 11.
In other West Brom news, ‘Of course he’s going to be included’ – Bilic ready to give West Brom player another chance