Liam Thomas

Sat 18 February 2023 8:10, UK

January signing Nathaniel Chalobah can be pivotal for West Brom towards the club’s playoff dreams after his injury scare against Blackburn was declared as “nothing serious“.

Chalobah impressed on his full debut for the Baggies before being forced off The Hawthorns pitch in the 52nd minute in the 1-1 draw.

The midfield maestro has been described as “excellent” by Sir Trevor Brooking during his teenage years and he could be a key cog in the Baggies’ promotion push.

“Nathaniel Chalobah is still only 15-and-a-half and he was playing against players that are nearly two whole years older than him. He was excellent,” said Brooking as quoted by Tribal Football after England U17’s European Championship final win over Spain 12 years ago.

Now, whilst you can’t get too carried away by comments made when Chalobah was a teenager, the midfielder’s 144 appearances in the Championship suggest he knows the league like the back of his hand.

Raising hopes.

Being out-of-favour at Craven Cottage meant the Baggies could pounce on a deal to secure Chalobah for 18 months at The Hawthorns.

And he provides an experienced option for Corberan to chop and change the Yokuslu-Molumby pivot with, something which had no genuine competition before January.

Chalobah’s Championship experience will be needed in the coming weeks, should his injury prove to be in the not-so-serious bracket as suggested above.

Especially as the Baggies hit a sticky bit of form, something which has evolved from a brutal Friday evening 2-1 loss to Burnley at Turf Moor on 20 January.

Fans certainly haven’t seen the best of Chalobah yet, but his calm presence in the engine room and eagerness to do the dirty work of the team will go far in this Corberan setup.

Even more so as the league reaches its crucial months and weeks leading up to playoff football, only then will fans see the true significance of this shrewd January acquisition.

In other West Brom news, Albion pulled the plug on a late loan signing on deadline day.