Carlos Corberan yet to unleash 'electric' option as West Brom position clarified

Grady Diangana of West Bromwich Albion
-Credit: (Image: West Bromwich Albion FC via Gett)


Grady Diangana remains ready to be called upon when Carlos Corberan needs him after a string of impressive appearances from the bench at the beginning of West Bromwich Albion's new campaign. Diangana has rarely spent such an extensive period of time out of the starting XI as he has done in these opening weeks of the season, but such has been the club's form and options afforded to Corberan, he has had to make do with cameos so far.

Diangana, who is now into his sixth season at The Hawthorns, has operated on both wings for the majority of his time at the club but he made the number ten position his own in the second half of last season having been deployed there by Corberan, and in the absence of regular central playmaker John Swift who had been sidelined through injury.

The expectation is that Diangana is nearing a return to the starting line-up in the coming games, especially as Albion's Championship schedule begins to intensify with midweek fixtures becoming customary either side of the October international break. He was sharp and helped to - temporarily - change the game even if Albion eventually succumbed to Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough on Saturday.

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It's an interesting thought that Diangana is now considered a central option to Corberan, who has Jed Wallace and Tom Fellows on the right and Karlan Grant and Mikey Johnston competing on the left currently. Although Swift is playing deeper as part of a midfield three, that's not to say that Corberan can't and won't tweak things according to the opponent and 'electric' Diangana remains firmly in his thoughts.

"My opinion about Grady didn't change," Corberan said. "For me, he's a winger / playmaker. He can play on the sides, or he can play inside. The best thing for me about him playing on the side is that he can dribble, but his work ethic and work in defence is unbelievable for a winger.

"It's not easy to find wingers who can defend like him, but it's true - sometimes when you put him on the side, you lose his skill in the middle to eliminate players, because he is unpredictable when receiving the ball - it's a high level of receiving.

"For me, in the middle of the pitch, he has the possibilities to beat you both sides. It increases his possibilities to impact the game. The player, sometimes when you put on the sides you isolate them more. When you put them in the middle, they are more involved. Playing as a number ten helps him more, but that doesn't mean he cannot play on the sides, because he has played there probably 90% of his career.

"If I compare the ten of Swift with the ten of Grady, Swift is more of a ten who is a midfielder. When you want to play with more of a midfielder, Swift is the one I would pick. Grady is an attacking, more electric ten. More forward ten. He needs two midfielders behind him, with Mowey and Okay last year as less attacking, and two wingers who are more playmakers."

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