Jayson Molumby ‘bloody impressive’ as pundit wowed by West Brom ace in Ireland defeat v France
West Brom midfielder Jayson Molumby was “bloody impressive” for Ireland in their 1-0 loss against France on Monday (27 March), according to pundit Vinny Perth.
The Albion man started and played 86 minutes in the defeat to the 2022 World Cup finalists in their Euro 2024 qualifying match in Dublin.
And the 23-year-old has drawn huge praise for his display, with fellow pundit Joe Molloy also noticing just how impressive Molumby was against Les Bleus.
“Molumby for me played like what you would typically associate with Ireland in terms of… blood and guts,” said Perth, as quoted by Off The Ball. “And he was bloody impressive. I loved his performance.”
Molloy responded: “For me, that’s been missing from this team too much in the last year. I understand the focus that Stephen Kenny has and I agree with it. There were times I was watching the game and I loved the respect that Ireland had for the ball. Even if they weren’t necessarily picking France apart. But I would have felt over the last couple of months, ‘Where is the Molumby performance?’”
And Perth replied: “You’re seen as a dinosaur as a coach if you mention blood and guts and thunder and all of that stuff. You’re seen as a bit of a dinosaur if you shout squeeze and press and all that stuff. But then when Diego Simeone does it, it’s brilliant.
“We are battling against somebody who is better than us and it needs that. Molumby set a real tone for us in midfield.”
Molumby shines
Molumby has a strong relationship with Ireland manager Stephen Kenny, who was in charge of Ireland Under-21s not long ago when Molumby was part of the squad.
And the pair have now taken that partnership to the senior stage, with Kenny heavily reliant on the Albion midfielder in recent matches.
It was an impressive showing from Molumby, who was coming up against the likes of Adrien Rabiot, Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga, all world-class talents.
It will do Molumby’s club career no harm, with the midfielder undoubtedly set to be tired but ultimately thrilled amid his return to The Hawthorns.
West Brom have a huge task on their hands as they seek promotion to the Premier League, with Molumby set to be a key member of the run-in from now until the end of the season.
The Baggies host fellow promotion hopefuls Millway on Saturday (1 April) in their first match back from the international break, with the club hopeful that Molumby can take his international form into the Championship fixture.
In other West Brom news, forward Jed Wallace has backed club captain Dara O’Shea to become a legend at The Hawthorns.