West Brom must stop former transfer target Leo Scienza vs Southampton after relegation latest
West Brom are looking to carry the momentum gained from their 1-1 draw with Sheffield United, as they take on Southampton on Wednesday.
James Morrison’s side dropped into the bottom three on Tuesday, with Leicester securing a 2-0 win against Bristol City.
Opponents Southampton sit eighth in the Championship, and are in the hunt for a play-off place after they were relegated from the Premier League last May.
One man whom the Baggies will have to look out for in particular is Brazilian winger Leo Scienza, who was linked with a move to The Hawthorns last summer.
If West Brom are to climb back out of the drop zone, their former transfer target will have to be nullified.
West Brom will regret Leo Scienza decision
Making the move to St Mary’s on deadline day last summer, the signing of Scienza went somewhat under the radar in the Championship.
The winger had been linked with a switch to Ryan Mason’s West Brom just days before, with Tom Fellows also joining the Saints.
Spending his whole professional career in Germany, it would not be until the 2024-25 season that the 27-year-old made a name for himself in the Bundesliga.
Signing from Ulm in the summer of 2024, Scienza scored six times and registered six assists for a struggling Heidenheim side across all competitions – before he scored the goal to keep FCH in the division during the relegation play-off against Elversberg.
Since making his Championship move, Scienza has scored six times and laid on eight assists, with his role in a much more free-flowing Saints side seeing him flourish.
Albion’s recruitment, on the other hand, has proven poor when you look at last summer through a lens, with winger Samuel Iling-Junior in particular struggling before his loan was cut short in January.
In a case of what could have been for the Baggies, they are now having to keep a close eye on a player who could have been theirs, as they battle for their second-tier status.
Leo Scienza is the man to nullify if West Brom are to pick up shock result
With eight assists this season, Scienza is one of the division’s leading creators.
Leading Joe Tymon and Sorba Thomas by three, the Brazilian has created 18 big chances, while his expected assists per 90 number is the highest in the Championship, sitting at 0.30.
As demonstrated by the Sofascore graphic below, the former Albion target is simply all-action.
Always looking to get on the ball and make things happen, Scienza has also registered the third most shots on target per match, behind former Albion striker and current Wolves man Adam Armstrong and Joe Gelhardt.
In a side with the second-highest average possession (57.3 per cent) behind Middlesbrough, Scienza is trusted to shift momentum in the final third, with 1,335 touches.
Heading into Wednesday’s clash at The Hawthorns, the winger is going to be the man for the Baggies to nullify if they are to climb out of the bottom three – a far from ideal task in Morrison’s third game in charge.
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