Exclusive: Super Kev feels sorry for West Brom striker Mbaye Diagne
We’re delighted to welcome former West Brom striker Kevin Phillips as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at The Hawthorns…
Kevin Phillips admits he feels sorry for Mbaye Diagne, who isn’t getting the supply he would have hoped since joining West Brom in January.
Diagne, 29, has scored just one goal in his first eight appearances for the Baggies after Sam Allardyce signed him on loan from Galatasaray.
However, the Senegal international has also had three goal disallowed for him being offside. According to stats by WyScout, no player has been offside more times per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season than the Albion loane [1.6].
Despite this, Phillips is a fan of Diagne and wants to see the Senegalese forward handed better opportunities to score from his team-mates.
Speaking to West Brom news, Phillips said: “I quite like Diagne, he’s a handful.
“Give him the right service and I think he could be okay.
“Unfortunately, he’s playing for a side that’s lacking in confidence but I can’t really criticise him.
“You can’t really judge him either because he’s probably not getting the supply he would have expected, especially based on last year when West Brom were flying in the Championship.
“I can’t really criticise him, to be honest.”
Sorry Super Kev, but we can criticise Diagne.
Stats by Wyscout show his xG per 90 minutes in the Premier League this season is 0.57, which is on a par with Tottenham and England striker Harry Kane. Only three players have a higher xG per 90 than the West Brom forward.
It’s very, very clear that he’s getting the service but simply isn’t taking his opportunities as well as he should be.
And when he does take his opportunities and makes the back of the net ripple, he’s offside more often than not.
We were worried that signing an ageing striker from the Turkish league would be a risky move by West Brom in January and while there’s been an improvement with him up front, he simply isn’t getting the goals he should be.
In other West Brom news, John Percy has shared a major transfer update on the Baggies.
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