West Brom loanee Alex Mowatt under pressure at Middlesbrough
Alex Mowatt made the move to Middlesbrough in the summer on loan from West Brom but it has not been the start to Teesside life that he wanted.
The 27-year-old has played six straight Championship games for Boro but the results have not come as they would have expected for Chris Wilder’s side.
Mowatt was even hauled off at half-time against Cardiff City, and fellow Baggies loanee Cedric Kipre, after a below-par performance and Craig Johns of Teesside Live is worried.
“It’s not been the most convincing of starts for Mowatt at Boro, though that’s not altogether down to him personally,” Johns told Birmingham Live. “Mowatt has joined the club during a tricky period of form for them and they’re just struggling right now for results, and you can see that is impacting confidence.
“While Mowatt hasn’t done anything particularly wrong, he’s struggled to really influence games much, and that’s been particularly noticeable because he was ultimately brought in to replace Marcus Tavernier who was an energetic, box-to-box midfielder and Mowatt, on the evidence so far, appears a different kind of midfielder.
“He dropped out of the side for the game before the international break as the dynamics of the midfield changed, and it’s clear he could have some work to do to work his way back in.”
Great move
There were some concerns when Mowatt was loaned out to the Riverside that Steve Bruce wouldn’t have the depth he needs at The Hawthorns but his lacklustre start to life in the North East has vindicated that choice.
Unfortunately for Bruce, his Albion side have had an equally poor start to the season with Okay Yokuslu replacing Mowatt in the squad and not quite living up to the expectation put on him after his brief spell in the Midlands during the 2020-21 campaign.
Both sides sit on just 10 points so far this season with West Brom just above Boro in the league table and out of the relegation zone as a result.
The Baggies have drawn seven of their ten matches but they have looked like a side capable of winning games if they could finish the chances they create whereas Middlesbrough have been struggling to get that close to the goal.
In other West Brom news, this South American international found it tough to accept his deadline day move to The Hawthorns collapsed at the 11th hour.