West Brom endured a highly disappointing campaign last season in the EFL Championship. One of the favourites to be promoted to the Premier League, they did make a good start. However, a terrible run of form during the middle of the season, particularly in January and February, meant that they went from being one of the promotion favourites to mid-table mediocrity. Having underachieved last season, the Baggies will look to challenge for promotion this time. To do that, they will need to reinforce the squad in some areas. They have signed Jayson Molumby on a permanent basis after his campaign on loan.
Molumby made 31 appearances in the EFL Championship last season for West Brom whilst on loan from Brighton’s U23 side. He scored one goal throughout the the campaign. He participated in the Baggies’ build-up play frequently, averaging 43 pass attempts per 90 at an accuracy of over 87%. The Irishman was also pretty good in progressing the ball as he completed nearly 75% of his passes into the final third out of 5.4 attempts per 90. He completed 3.13 long balls per 90, which put him above the median value among midfielders.
Molumby attempted nearly 11 defensive actions per 90 and had a win rate of more than 76%, ranking in the upper third among midfielders in both categories. He was average when it came to defensive duels as he won only 18.11% of these actions. However, the 22-year-old was very good in his aerial ability despite his height of just 176 cm as he won more than 53% of his aerial duels out of 3.36 contests per 90. He also recovered 35% of his loose balls. The Irishman made 4.22 interceptions per 90 and over 10 recoveries per 90, the latter placing him in the 95th percentile among midfielders. He also showed his ability to press high up the pitch, completing 5.64 recoveries per 90 in the opponents’ half.
As like any other midfielder, Molumby spent the majority of his time in the middle third of the pitch. His all-action attitude saw him track back and advance forward as the situation changed, thus showing his effort on both ends of the pitch. However, his biggest drawback was his lack of temperament as he earned nine yellow cards and was sent off once during his 1713 minutes of action on the field.
Molumby won duels all over the pitch except in the oppositions’ penalty area. He won a good combination of 50/50s, aerial duels and ground-based defending duels. Even though he won duels fairly evenly across the field, it was in midfield that he won the most, though not by much.
Jayson Molumby was one of the more important players in the West Brom squad last season. However, with the arrival of John Swift from Reading, he will need to impress the manager if he is to be a regular starter at the Hawthorns this season.
