(Credit: Imago)

Jacob Raw

Wed 8 April 2026 20:00, UK

West Bromwich Albion‘s 0-0 draw against Blackburn Rovers was incredibly frustrating, but one positive to take was James Morrison‘s decision to play Callum Styles in an advanced role.

Styles has featured at left-back for most of the season, and has occasionally been used in midfield, but was utilised in left midfield at Ewood Park.

Over 7,000 Baggies fans roared Albion on for a goal against their Championship relegation rivals, but it wasn’t meant to be, but that’s nothing that Styles could have helped.

Morrison is still lacking that extra creative spark in attack to get things flowing, as it would be great to have a fit Mikey Johnston right about now.

However, Styles put in a shift for West Brom on the left flank against Rovers, and it would be no surprise to see him remain there with five games of the season left to go.

The stats prove Callum Styles is a natural fit at left midfield

West Brom’s formation at Ewood Park was down as a 4-4-2 on paper, but as seen throughout the match, there was some fluidity in attacking and defensive setups.

Styles has arguably been the most consistent player for the Baggies this season, and never stooped as low as some of his teammates have this term.

The 26-year-old has always had a more attacking mindset about him, and as seen in the table above, he looked comfortable going forward, making four successful passes into the final third.

He provided energy that Charlie Taylor didn’t have on the left, winning five recoveries and boasting a 75 per cent long ball accuracy, while also completing two crosses.

The Hungarian international had 47 touches in total, and the move upfield saw him less involved in defence, as he made just two defensive contributions.

Styles earned a respectable 7.0 FotMob rating from the match, which unironically represents what you could label his performances as for the whole campaign.

Styles position makes Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba biggest loser

Styles came in to replace Jamaldeen Jimoh Aloba on the left flank, with the latter being the man who started in Albion’s game before Blackburn, in the 2-2 draw to Wrexham.

The winger was hooked after 72 minutes and has looked fairly uninspiring since returning to The Hawthorns on loan this winter.

It looked hard to see how Jimoh-Aloba’s inclusion could be justified, moving past the Wrexham game, and given that Morrison is now playing Styles in place of him, it’s not looking great for his playing chances.

Shilen Patel may have more questions to answer, this time about the decision to bring Jimoh-Aloba back to Albion, especially if West Brom are relegated.