Why West Brom fans will be so shocked by Semi Ajayi as he cements himself in Hull history

Semi Ajayi showed West Bromwich Albion fans what they're missing on Saturday.

The 32-year-old central defender left West Brom on a free transfer last summer.

He'd been with the Baggies since 2019, and made 177 total competitive appearances during his time at The Hawthorns.

The Nigerian international had the odd goal in him too, as the only season in which he failed to find the net for Albion was in his final 2024-25 campaign.

Upon leaving B71, it was Hull City who picked the experienced defender up for nothing.

Saturday sees the Tigers making their return to the Premier League for the first time since 2016-17, and Ajayi ensured they came back with a bang.

How Semi Ajayi was architect behind landmark Hull City moment

Hull City were one of the big surprise packages of last season's Championship campaign.

Despite transfer restrictions and very few fancying them for anything greater than a mid-table finish, the Tigers roared to promotion.

After defeating Middlesbrough in the play-off final, Sergej Jakirovic led his team to an unforgettable season, and back to the Premier League.

However, with promotion often comes major squad upheaval, and Ajayi seemed to be at risk of the ruthless nature of top-flight transfer spending.

But as Man United came to the MKM Stadium on Saturday, he was named in Hull's starting lineup, and he's provided Tigers fans with a moment to cherish forever.

Just 17 minutes into their Premier League return, Hull swung in a corner that Oli McBurnie almost turned home at the back post.

Senne Lammens denied the striker with a fantastic save, but couldn't prevent the ball from dropping to Ajayi inside the six-yard box.

The former Albion defender lashed the ball into an unguarded net, scoring Hull's first goal back in the top flight and sending the MKM faithful wild.

But why will West Brom fans be so shocked to see Ajayi on the scoresheet other than the simple fact he's a defender?

Ajayi didn't carry much attacking threat in final West Brom days

As aforementioned, Ajayi failed the find the net during his final season with West Brom in 2024-25.

He played just 15 times in the Championship that term, and his underlying numbers tell a story of a defender who never really looked like scoring.

As per FotMob, his 0.37 shots per 90 minutes average that season ranked in the bottom 33.3 percentile of all Championship centre-backs.

Meanwhile, his 0.07 shots on target and 0.66 touches in the opposition box per 90 ranked him in the bottom 31.6 and 25.6 percentiles.

Ajayi was a good servant to West Brom though, and Baggies fans will no doubt be delighted to see him enjoying a moment like this in the Premier League.