James Morrison must consider Hindolo Mustapha action after Sheffield United draw
West Brom’s necks remain above water in the Championship after a good away point at Sheffield United.
It wasn’t the three points that West Brom desperately need, but a point away at Bramall Lane is sure to have been an outcome that many Albion fans would’ve taken prior to Saturday’s game.
Chris Wilder’s Blades have been sharp in recent weeks, having won three of their previous four league games coming into their meeting with the Baggies, but it was George Campbell‘s day for both the wrong and right reasons.
Indeed, it was the Albion defender who turned the ball into his own net to give United the lead on 53 minutes, but he would redeem himself with a superb strike on 83 minutes, earning his side a precious point.
West Brom’s wingers struggled against Sheffield United
Scoring goals and being clinical in front of goal has been a major issue for Albion throughout the season, with a lack of production and quality from out wide being a big contributing factor to this.
And now with Mikey Johnston facing an extended period on the sidelines, and perhaps now missing the rest of the campaign, Baggies’ interim boss James Morrison is going to need his crop of wide players to start hitting the mark.
That didn’t happen on Saturday, however, as Ollie Bostock struggled massively in his full West Brom debut and was replaced on 69 minutes by Jed Wallace.
Meanwhile, Isaac Price was more impactful down the right, but he once again couldn’t find a goal contribution and lacked that final piece of quality.
With Morrison having limited options to turn to for improvement in this department, now might just be the time to throw caution to the wind and see what they have in Hindolo Mustapha.
Signed on deadline day this winter on loan from Crystal Palace for the rest of the season, the versatile 19-year-old attacking midfielder has just 45 minutes against Norwich in the FA Cup to show for his Albion move so far.
However, he has scored in his only Premier League 2 appearance for Albion since arriving at The Hawthorns, and was an unused substitute against Sheffield United.
Mustapha could offer wildcard spark to West Brom
Fellow teenage loanee Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba has failed to provide a goal contribution in his first six games as a West Brom player.
Meanwhile, the aforementioned Wallace is now 31, and with just two goals and one assist to his name this season, he’s not really offering Albion an awful lot when he enters the fray either.
Mustapha is a complete unknown quantity in regards to what he may or may not be able to offer in an Albion shirt, but if you never try, then you never know.
If there was any a time for West Brom to be taking risks in the hope of finding some match-winning, season-changing spark, it’s now, and who knows, Mustapha might just be that player.
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