Better than Gibbs – View: West Brom must tie down future of breakthrough ace in PL
West Brom currently have the worst defensive record in the Premier League by some distance, and there is little hope over their top-flight status.
Both Sam Allardyce and Slaven Bilic have favoured the likes of Semi Ajayi and Kyle Bartley in the heart of their defence.
Kieran Gibbs started at left-back, but things have quickly changed in the months following that with Conor Townsend finally breaking through.
No one, likely including Townsend too, would have expected him to nail down his spot.
The 26-year-old has never been the first-choice option at The Hawthorns, but he quickly nailed down his spot in the Premier League.
Defensively, he has been superb – winning nearly 70% of his defensive duels in the Premier League according to WyScout.
Gibbs has been consistently making mistakes despite his experience, with Townsend reading the game much better, completing almost four interceptions in each outing.
Things have changed massively in recent weeks.
First, Townsend was injured, opening the door back up for Gibbs, but that doesn’t seem to have affected his future plans in the midlands.
The England international has been strongly linked with a move to Inter Miami, and Joseph Masi has claimed he should complete that switch at the end of the season.
With that spot open, the Baggies must tie down the long-term future of Townsend, who can then move on to secure that left-back spot past this season no matter which division we are in.
In other West Brom news, Ian Wright makes prediction ahead of Manchester United clash