This article is part of Football League World’s ‘Terrace Talk‘ series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…
West Bromwich Albion have confirmed the permanent arrival of Jayson Molumby following his loan spell at The Hawthorns.
Molumby has put pen-to-paper on a three-year deal with West Brom, tying him down until the summer of 2025.
The Athletic report how Molumby triggered a clause within the contract of his loan from Brighton that meant this was a given some time ago, with the fee around £900k.
In 30 appearances this season for the club, the 22-year-old has scored one goal and played his part in what's been, ultimately, an underwhelming campaign for West Brom.
FLW's West Brom fan pundit, Matt, admitted that it wasn't a signing that blew him away.
“I’m not totally over the moon but that’s not to say I think he’ll be a bad signing or a poor acquisition," Matt explained.
“I’ve not seen enough this season to make me think he’s worth keeping on permanently, regardless of the fee.
“He epitomises the type of signing that was brought in under Valerien Ismael: a player with energy, can run, but lacks certain technical ability and technical class we’ve seen from better Albion players."
Despite that, the fee of £900k leaves this a fairly risk-free signing in the eyes of Matt, particularly with Molumby showing his quality in last weekend's win over Reading FC and having time on his side to develop under Steve Bruce.
He continued: “As has been alluded to by some Albion fans who are more content with the signing, we haven’t paid too much for him at all and it’s a low-risk signing.
“He had his best game of the season against Reading at the weekend.
“He’s young, there’s a long way to go, but I haven’t been totally convinced by his performances this season.”
The Verdict
Honestly, this doesn't feel like it's terrible business for West Brom.
You can fully understand the frustration with how this season has gone and the players that have been involved in the slump towards mid-table, but Molumby still has a lot of quality that we've seen before in the Championship.
At £900k, he's not breaking the bank and, at 22, he's got years ahead of him to develop into the midfielder that West Brom fans want to see.
He might not be the most technical, but he makes up for that in other areas and complements other midfielders really nicely.
Thoughts? Let us know!