Carlos Corberan has a reputation as a manager for prioritising resolute defensive displays over free-flowing attacking football, and that has been the case at West Bromwich Albion this season to date.
The Baggies have only leaked nine goals all Championship campaign, but that has come at a cost when you consider the entertainment levels at the Hawthorns, with Corberan’s men only scoring a paltry two goals in front of their home masses.
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Still, it is commendable how consistently dogged the West Midlands side are in such a tough and tricky division, especially with a recent injury crisis plaguing them at the back.
West Brom’s injury crisis
Looking at the extensive list of injuries Corberan is having to deal with at this moment highlights how many defenders are in the Baggies treatment room, with both Kyle Bartley and Semi Ajayi long-term absentees.
Bartley in particular has been a big loss, as the 33-year-old has been a defensive rock for his side for many a season now, with five clean sheets picked up from ten Championship clashes this season before injury disaster struck.
West Brom centre-back Kyle Bartley
Paddy McNair also finds himself sidelined as a back-up option, with the ex-Manchester United man purchased on loan this summer to add cover, only for him to pick up an injury two games into his stint at the Hawthorns.
Thankfully, other fresh recruits such as Torbjorn Heggem have stepped up to the mark at the back whilst others have fallen victim to bad luck, with the Nordic defender ever-present for the Baggies in league action.
West Brom defender Paddy McNair
With the number of injuries that keep piling up and up, Corberan must lust after one former Albion star.
The ex-West Brom defender whose value is soaring
The player in question here is Dara O’Shea, who grew more and more in confidence donning a Baggies strip as his spell at the club went on after rising through the academy ranks to become a regular starter.
His final campaign at West Brom saw him pick up a mightily impressive 14 clean sheets from 37 second-tier clashes, on top of also helping himself to two goals and one assist as a well-rounded figure at the back.
West Brom defender Dara O’Shea
Also labelled as “unbelievable” by ex-Baggies manager Slaven Bilic when the pair crossed paths, West Brom must have been aware that a higher-up suitor was perhaps going to poach their homegrown talent away from them sometime soon.
Now a full international with the Republic of Ireland, it was Burnley who ended up stealing him away from the Midlands, with the Clarets paying a sizeable £7m fee.
