John Swift must step up for Carlos Corberan as West Brom injury update emerges
Carlos Corberan has lost several important West Brom players during the summer transfer window, and he will be in no mood to lose any of his squad to injuries.
Despite the number of outgoings so far, including Brandon Thomas-Asante, Conor Townsend, Cedric Kipre and Okay Yokuslu, the Baggies have started the season on a very positive note.
Corberan’s side opened the season with an exciting 3-1 win against QPR, following that up with a 0-0 stalemate with Leeds United before defeating Stoke City 2-1 on Saturday 24 August.
With everything on-pitch going so well for the team, it is no surprise to see a little bit of bad karma head the way of The Hawthorns, with Grady Diangana now sidelined with a shoulder injury.
While Corberan would “sign it on paper” if he were only out for two weeks [Express and Star], there is no final verdict on how long the 26-year-old could be unavailable, so more players need to step up in his place.
John Swift must take Grady Diangana’s place after West Brom blow
John Swift was a killer in the penalty area last season, scoring six of his nine Championship goals from inside the box, with three of them coming from the penalty spot.
However, he could only notch one assist in 37 appearances, albeit only 20 of them were from the starting XI.
With no timeline on Diangana’s new injury, Corberan will be depending on Swift to pull the team forward and help combine the attacking forces for the Baggies.
The 29-year-old created 42 chances in the league last season [FotMob], but with only one assist, it would suggest that not all of them were easy opportunities for his teammates to hit the back of the net.
With an 86 per cent passing accuracy, Swift is always very delicate with the ball, though his accuracy plummets when it comes to shooting, only getting 38 per cent of his attempts on target.
He also ranks in the top 86 percentile for progressive passes, as per FBref, which can only add more confusion as to why he has not had more assists in recent games.
Corberan needs the 2021/22 and 2022/23 version of Swift to make a return to The Hawthorns, a period when he notched 17 goals and 22 assists for the Baggies, and this would be even more welcomed following Diangana’s news.
In other West Brom news, the Baggies are eyeing a loan deal for an Ipswich Town ace who made Premier League history last week.
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