Steve Bruce could save West Brom job by giving Reyes Cleary senior chance
Steve Bruce is somehow clinging onto the West Brom job by the thinnest of fingernails but he could give himself a leg up in surviving.
Up to this point, the Baggies have only started either Karlan Grant or Brandon Thomas-Asante as the central striker and neither have really hit the heights that Bruce needs them to, to keep him employed at The Hawthorns.
Grant has scored plenty of goals but that is pretty much all he does and his play away from the box is pitiful which often sees moves break down as a result.
Thomas-Asante does have a little more about him on the ball and his physical prowess makes him a livewire on the pitch but he has not settled in the Championship just yet.
One player who could be the answer though is Under-21s hotshot Reyes Cleary who has now been nominated for the Premier League 2’s Player of the Month for September, as shared by the West Brom Twitter account.
The 18-year-old, who former Under-23s boss Richard Beale labelled an “uncut diamond” last season, had left The Hawthorns when his contract expired in June but quickly returned after being convinced to stay.
His epic goal-scoring form from last season, where he scored 28 goals in 32 games, has continued this campaign with six goals in four matches for the Albion youth team.
It seems like this conversation crops up on a monthly basis but Bruce has still not given Cleary any real chances bar the odd few minutes in the Carabao Cup when a fully-rotated side played against his strengths.
Grant has now proven that he is not good enough to be the all-around striker West Brom needs to lead the line and while Thomas-Asante can hold up one end of the bargain, Cleary has to get the chance to prove he can support him sufficiently if Bruce wants to have any chance of keeping his job beyond the weekend.
In other West Brom news, Chris Lepkowski has scolded what he brands as a “rancid, horrible bunch” that have made the Baggies dressing room toxic.