Carlos Corberan should take risky decision on West Brom academy star Akeel Higgins after Josh Maja development
West Brom striker Josh Maja is expected to be out for at least two months and Carlos Corberan could be forced to turn to club academy wonder Akeel Higgins for attacking inspiration in the coming weeks.
The Baggies confirmed on Tuesday 19 September that Maja tore his ankle ligaments against Bristol City and will now sit out of action for eight weeks.
The Nigeria international was involved in a big controversial talking point late on in the game as he was sent to the ground inside the box by Kai Naismith, before being pictured leaving the ground in crutches (16 September).
It’s now been confirmed by West Brom that Maja will likely be out of action until after the November international break, leaving Corberan with a severely depleted attacking weaponry.
With Daryl Dike not expected to return from his long injury lay-off until at least December, West Brom only have Brandon Thomas-Asante as their specialist striker with the likes of Jed Wallace, Jeremy Sarmiento, Grady Diangana and Matt Phillips as his current available wide options.
However, the Spaniard will still feel he is unbelievably short of attacking quality and cutting-edge and it is certainly showing in recent results.
The Baggies are without a win in their last five Championship games – their last coming against Middlesbrough on 26 August – and failing to score in two of their last three, leaving them languishing in 13th place on 10 points from a possible 24 on offer.
While many of their potential promotion rivals like Leeds United, Leicester City, Sunderland and even newly-promoted Ipswich Town are finding goals and points easy to come by, Corberan is left having to deal with an attack desperately needing some much-needed exuberance and vibrancy.
Sarmiento and Diangana are very capable options but the latter is still finding his feet in his new surroundings and the latter has just returned from injury which could force Corberan to take a risky punt on a talented young academy product in Akeel Higgins.
The Championship remains the ideal platform across Europe for burgeoning young talents to hone their craft, and players who have taken a similar path have gone on to become World beaters at Premier League level.
Promoting from within the academy is something the Spaniard should be undergoing anyway, to ensure a sustainable and healthy future at The Hawthorns and Higgins is one talent he may be having his eyes on.
The small but sly attacker primarily operates on the flanks but has proven himself in behind the forward in the No.10 role. Aggressive on the front foot, plays with energy, vibrancy and youth exuberance and shows good feet in tight situations in the final third, Higgins could prove an instant hit in the Championship.
He’s netted in the U18 Premier League, PL2, Premier League and Birmingham Senior Cup matches for Richard Beale’s U21s during the 2022/23 campaign.
The second year of his scholarship saw the majority of Akeel’s goal contributions come in the PL2 team, recording double-figures across four competitions (six goals, five assists) – in addition to three strikes in the U18s.
Higgins may not be the ruthless finisher West Brom are crying out for, but he’s the youthful attacking outlet that Corberan could take a worthy and refreshing risk on. The squad needs a fresh outlook, fans will certainly admit to that.
In other West Brom news, one finance expert has labelled the interest rate on the Baggies loan repayments as “exorbitant”