Jayson Molumby snubbed again by Republic of Ireland in 2-0 Greece loss, he may demand Carlos Corberan exit talks at West Brom
It’s been an October to forget for West Brom midfielder Jayson Molumby as he’s struggled for game time at The Hawthorns and his latest Republic of Ireland snub may well be the final straw.
Stephen Kenny’s men slumped to another disappointing defeat at the Aviva Stadium on Friday (13 October) as Greece hammered the final nail in Ireland’s Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with a comfortable 2-0 victory.
However, it was another game where Molumby was overlooked for his nation despite being controversially called up to take part despite his lack of minutes under Carlos Corberan back at The Hawthorns.
West Brom midfielder Molumby started in the defeat to France in September and was dreadful in a comfortable French win on 7 September and was relegated to the bench against the Netherlands as a result (10 September).
The 24-year-old midfielder has been a benchwarmer for West Brom in their last three Championship encounters and he may feel his lack of minutes has certainly led to him not being picked by Kenny for his country.
BBC pundit and ex-footballer Kevin Kilbane, writing for the Irish Times (7 October) questioned why the Baggies midfielder was called up in the first place.
He said: “The manager is hardly sticking to the tried and tested. Poor results demanded a shake-up for this window. Josh Cullen is an automatic starter and Jason Knight’s energetic displays against France this year have been encouraging.
“But the others – Jayson Molumby and Alan Browne – are midfielders who can cope with the physicality of international football. Neither offers a solution to Ireland’s creative limitations.”
Molumby has had a strange start to the Championship season under Corberan, having started eight matches so far in the league this season.
However, the 24-year-old has slipped down the pecking order in recent weeks as Alex Mowatt has reestablished himself as a crucial member of the Baggies’ side and is really impressing so far too.
Corberan has preferred to start Mowatt alongside Okay Yokuslu in recent weeks with Nathaniel Chalobah operating from the bench, while Molumby has been stuck to the bench and hasn’t played a single minute in West Brom’s last two matches.
The box-to-box midfielder was linked with a summer move away during the transfer window with Leeds United reportedly interested [Alan Nixon, 18 June] but no such move materialised with Corberan having a depleted squad at his disposal.
However, given his tough situation right now both at club and international level, Molumby may feel he needs to be playing regularly to get a look in again for his national team and that may prompt crucial talks with Corberan in the coming weeks should his lack of minutes continue.
If his lack of opportunities does continue, it won’t be a surprise to see him beg Corberan and West Brom to leave in the January window. The Baggies are in financial peril right now and are in desperate need of funds so a possible exit isn’t far from Molumby.
In other West Brom news, a chance for one key Baggies attacker to prove he has a future at The Hawthorns after another fresh injury blow for Corberan.