We are into the final two months of the Championship season, and for West Bromwich Albion it will have been an almighty turn-around if they manage to reach the play-offs come May.

In October when Steve Bruce was sacked, the Baggies were sitting in the relegation zone to the complete bemusement of neutrals, and they remained there until just after Carlos Corberan was named as his successor.

The Spaniard's turn-around of form at The Hawthorns has been nothing short of a fantastic achievement, and a number of weeks ago Albion were even sitting inside the top six of the division.

Picking up just 10 points out of a possible 24 from their last eight matches sees them adrift by four points, but whatever happens now it has been a good start to life in the Midlands for Corberan.

Sooner rather than later, he will have to start planning for the 2023-24 season - if they do make the play-offs then that could take a bit longer, but certain decisions will need to be made on the current crop of West Brom players.

Some experienced players have expiring contracts and may move on, but there is also a crop of younger players coming through that are yet to really have their break in the first team.

One player who definitely has been exposed to Championship football is Taylor Gardner-Hickman, who unfortunately hasn't been able to lock down a position in Corberan's starting 11.

The 21-year-old has been at the Baggies since the age of seven and was handed his debut last season in August when starting against Arsenal in the EFL Cup - it wouldn't be long until he was playing in the Championship as well as he had his first league outing in November 2021 under Valerien Ismael.

He continued to appear under Steve Bruce when he replaced the Frenchman and ended the season with 21 appearances, having proven to be very versatile at right-back, wing-back, and in the middle of the park in midfield.

Much has changed this season though, especially with the appointment of Corberan - whilst Bruce was in charge there was still smatterings of game-time for Gardner-Hickman at right-back, and then under caretaker manager Richard Beale in October he moved into the midfield and had a star showing against Reading with a goal and assist.

And whilst he started Corberan's first two matches in charge in midfield, Jayson Molumby soon established himself as a regular starter alongside Okay Yokuslu in the engine room at The Hawthorns, leaving Gardner-Hickman to be used off the bench.

Whilst he has come on for 25 minutes at a time in some matches, Gardner-Hickman has also had a few minutes worth of cameos here and there too, which won't exactly be helpful for his development.

Even though he can play all down the right flank, it's clear that Corberan sees Gardner-Hickman's future in midfield, but a loan move to a lower-end Championship side or the top end of League One next season should be seriously considered.

It will allow the youngster to develop playing week in, week out at a competitive level to see where he's really at with his game, as he isn't going to usurp the likes of Molumby and Yokuslu from the starting 11 right now.

Yes, West Brom would have to draft in a new signing for their midfield if Gardner-Hickman departed temporarily, but if they're in the Championship they will still be able to afford to do that.

The case to loan Gardner-Hickman out is strengthened even further if they win promotion to the top flight through the play-offs, but that particular position is definitely something Corberan and co will not be thinking of right now.

What they should already be thinking of though is Gardner-Hickman's short-term future, and that would be best served by some time away from The Hawthorns next season.