Report: Ainsley Maitland-Niles held showdown talks with West Brom squad in April
Ainsley Maitland-Niles chaired a crucial meeting with the West Brom squad before they beat Chelsea in April, according to The Athletic’s Steve Madeley.
Albion’s Premier League relegation was confirmed on Sunday night after a 3-1 defeat to the 23-year-old’s parent club Arsenal, but their stunning 5-2 win over Chelsea last month will live long in the memory.
It appears Maitland-Niles played a key role in that success, on and off the field.
West Brom reporter Madeley detailed the story of the loanee’s display of leadership on The Athletic website.
“The day before West Bromwich Albion’s most celebrated victory of a grim season, the players were summoned to the canteen at their Walsall training ground,” he said.
“They had not been called by the manager, coach or a senior player — but by a 23-year-old midfielder on loan from Arsenal. Ainsley Maitland-Niles had things to get off his chest.
“Other players had their say but it was Maitland-Niles, having called club captain Jake Livermore the previous day to ask him to convene a meeting, who did most of the talking. The meeting lasted around 15 minutes and the message from Maitland-Niles was blunt. He told his Albion teammates it was time to liven up.”
He added: “Maitland-Niles felt that, during the extended international break that followed, some of his teammates had eased off, believing their season was over.
“He told them he had not joined the club to go down without a fight. The stark message from a player so young, and normally quiet, left his colleagues taken aback.”
Up for the fight
This is a great story to hear despite dealing with the raw emotion of relegation.
To hear how much the relegation battle was hurting some of our players instils us with a bit of belief after a horrendous season in the main.
We’ve often criticised players for appearing to down tools during this disastrous campaign, as that’s what it’s looked like at times.
There have been too many passive players who haven’t shown enough desire and determination to bridge the gap in ability with the elite talents in the Premier League.
It’s often been our loan stars that have shown energy and passion in abundance, and Maitland-Niles has been one of those alongside Conor Gallagher and Okay Yokuslu in midfield.
He might have had a slow start to life at The Hawthorns but the Arsenal loanee has shown flashes of brilliance and his dynamism in midfield has been a joy at times.
It looks like we’ll be losing another leader in the dressing room in the summer, perhaps one we didn’t expect to be orchestrating so much influence.
In other West Brom news, Albion want to sign ‘Genius’ Brazilian-born midfielder in summer rebuild – The Athletic.
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