Steve Bruce sees Dara O’Shea as future West Brom captain

West Brom manager Steve Bruce might have only been at the club for a couple of months but he already has his sights set on the future.

The 61-year-old has overseen a sudden turnaround in form over recent weeks but he is looking even further ahead than this season.

He has been singing the praises of defender Dara O’Shea recently after the Irishman overcame a long injury layoff to feature in the Baggies squad over the past half a dozen games.

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“I like Dara O’Shea, I think he will be a future captain of this club – I really do,” Bruce said, as quoted by the Express and Star. “From what I have seen so far, he has got a bright future.

“He had a bad injury at the start of the season and had been out for six months. I put him in at right-back because I wanted him in the team. Maybe that was a bit too early and the wrong call for me. But he has got a bright future.”

We’ll take that

No West Brom supporter would claim O’Shea is the best player at the club but being a product of the academy means he tends to give just that little bit more than perhaps other players do.

It is a trend that seems to spread across every club in the country with those who have been with their respective club for a long time giving the maximum every game.

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That’s not to say others don’t do that but when it comes to true leaders in the dressing room, it can often be homegrown talents who become exactly that.

O’Shea has all the qualities of a great captain and Bruce clearly likes what he sees from the Irishman in that regard.

The Hawthorns would love to see a homegrown player walkout donning the armband and O’Shea appears to be the most likely to do that in the near future and rightly so.

In other West Brom news, this Baggies player is on a four-man shortlist of one of the world’s richest clubs.

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