Danny Cowley hoping to keep hold of ‘mature’ Josh Griffiths despite West Brom recall option
Josh Griffiths has been thriving on loan at Portsmouth this season, and Danny Cowley is hoping to keep hold of the West Brom loanee past January.
The goalkeeper position has been a difficult one for West Brom this season. David Button started the season as the club’s undisputable No.1, but his poor form led to Steve Bruce and now Carlos Corberan favouring Alex Palmer.
Palmer’s impressive performances between the sticks has left Button’s future in the Wests Midlands looking particularly bleak, especially when the breakthrough of Griffiths is considered.
After loan spells at Cheltenham Town and Lincoln City in the last two years, the 21-year-old headed to the south coast this season, where he’s thrived under Cowley. The Pompey boss sang his praises this week and admits that he hopes to keep hold of the Albion loanee despite there being a recall option available for Corberan.
When asked if Griffiths will stay beyond January, Cowley told The News: “Yes. We certainly hope he will be here.
“We know he’s a top keeper and we’ve been pleased with him. Someone like Josh Griffiths, if he’s able to fulfil his potential, which is huge, he’s going to be a future West Brom player and a huge asset to their organisation.
“Josh is a mature boy. It’s never easy following someone like Gavin Bazunu, but he’s been able to take that in his stride. It was that maturity in his character that really drew us to him, which was a key part of his decision to bring us here.”
Promising
Button’s poor form at the start of the season may have effectively put an end to his West Brom career. It sounds harsh, but it’s true.
Palmer has taken the opportunity with both hands and has conceded just once – from a penalty – in the last four games under Corberan.
He now looks set to take the No.1 moving forward, and Button will be lucky to even stay as second choice with the emergence of Griffiths.
While Button is in the twilight years of his career, Griffiths is starting to fulfil his lofty potential. Cowley is clearly a big fan and is backing him to enjoy a very successful career – hopefully at West Brom.
With Palmer in such good form it’s probably best for Griffiths to stay put at Portsmouth for the remainder of the season, but there’s a good chance he’ll be staying at The Hawthorns for the next campaign as Corberan looks to give him some game time in the first team.
In other West Brom news, Andy Carroll says he regretted joining West Brom after just two days at the club