Mowbray ‘to gift new midfield partner to Mowatt’ with West Brom position change
Tony Mowbray has a difficult task at West Brom of finding a midfield partner for Alex Mowatt of the same calibre.
Jayson Molumby has been a close second in the middle of the park but the 25-year-old has split opinion at The Hawthorns with some of his performances this season.
The Republic of Ireland international often picks up early yellow cards and needs to be hooked halfway through the second half, not anywhere near as trusted to stay composed as Mowatt.
With Ousmane Diakite failing to make a good impression for Albion so far, and Uros Racic’s loan spell in England being terminated, Mowbray might have a new answer to the midfield partnership.
Callum Styles could thrive in new position at West Brom
Callum Styles, while he has been featuring at left-back for the Baggies since his arrival during the summer, is capable of playing in the middle of the park and could be far more successful there.
The supporters have quickly taken a liking to the 24-year-old Hungarian, though it has become apparent that his style of defending leaves him susceptible to picking up quite a few cautions.
| Last five league matches (Mins played) | Number of fouls committed |
| Plymouth Argyle (90) | 2 |
| Portsmouth (90) | 1 |
| Middlesbrough (90) | 2 |
| Stoke City (90) | 2 |
| Swansea City (90) | 2 |
Styles has also picked up two of his seven Championship yellow cards in these last five fixtures, clearly struggling to deal with pacey wingers down the left-hand flank.
That can be seen during the 2020/21 campaign for Barnsley, where he played as a left-midfielder and picked up seven yellow cards before being moved into the middle of the park in the following season.
During the 2021/22 campaign, with the majority of displays coming as centre-midfield, he picked up just three yellow cards and could deal with players face-on, rather than having to chase them down the line.
Alex Mowatt deserves a like-for-like midfield partner
Mowatt continues to set the example at The Hawthorns. Only three players boast a higher tackle success rate than his (60 per cent), with Styles being one of them [FotMob].
The Hungarian has the highest average of successful tackles per 90 minutes but his number of yellow cards should be a worry. If he were to move into the middle of the park, he would thrive.
While he does have an impressive tackling rate, he also commits the most fouls of anyone in the team, evidenced by his cautions, but it could just be a matter of where he’s being played.
Styles has proven his ability to play in midfield before, albeit a few seasons ago now, but if Mowbray wants to find a new partner for Mowatt, he might have the answer right under his nose.