jack-grealish-villa
West Bromwich Albion are one of a host of teams hoping to secure promotion to the Premier League, alongside the likes of Norwich City and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The Baggies are fifth in the Championship table after eight games with four wins, two draws, and two defeats under head coach James Morrison, and are on track to compete for promotion.
james-morrison-west-brom (2)
james-morrison-west-brom (2)
Teams often need a mercurial attacking talent to push ahead of their rivals and secure automatic promotion, or to push through the play-offs and win at Wembley.
West Brom's Midlands rivals Aston Villa, for example, once earned promotion through the play-offs, in part, through the performances of their talisman Jack Grealish.
How Jack Grealish led Aston Villa to promotion
The Villans attacking midfielder is one of the best players to have ever graced the EFL, and the most expensive player to ever play in the Championship since he signed for Manchester City for £100m in 2021.
Jack Grealish GA at Aston Villa
Jack Grealish GA at Aston Villa
Prior to his Premier League form with Villa, which earned him that huge move to The Etihad, Grealish led Villa to promotion from the second tier in the 2018/19 campaign.
The England international scored six goals and provided six assists in 31 appearances in the Championship, averaging 2.3 key passes and 1.7 completed dribbles per game.
Villa played against the Baggies, of course, in the semi-finals of the play-offs that season and Grealish created a tie-high six chances across the two legs, providing one assist.
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|Grealish vs West Brom in play-off semi final 2019|
|Stat|1st leg|2nd leg|
|---|
|Minutes|90|120|
|Pass accuracy|91%|85%|
|Key passes|3|3|
|Assists|1|0|
|Successful dribbles|3|3|
|Duels won|12/16|10/16|
The right-footed playmaker, who could play through the middle or out wide, dragged Dean Smith's side to promotion with his ability to score and create goals, providing a constant threat in matches.
West Brom must join race to sign their own Grealish
Now, the Baggies could land their own version of Grealish to help their own promotion push by joining the race to sign the EFL's biggest talent since the £100m-rated man.
joao-pedro-watford-championship
It was recently reported that Wolverhampton Wanderers, Norwich City, and Burnley are among the teams who have already made contact to speak with Arsenal about a potential move for Max Dowman.
The 16-year-old attacker will be eligible to go out on loan after his birthday at the end of December and the Gunners are considering whether or not to send him out on loan in the January transfer window.
If Mikel Arteta decides to sanction a temporary exit for the England youth international, West Brom must join the likes of Wolves and Norwich in the race for his signature.
Arsenal's Max Dowman in action
Arsenal's Max Dowman in action
Dowman has already had first-team experience with the Gunners, despite being 16, and recently scored two goals against Premier League side Ipswich Town in the League Cup.
Last season, the left-footed starlet became the youngest goalscorer in the history of the Premier League when he scored against Everton aged 16 years, two months, and 11 days.
The 16-year-old wonderkid looks like he could be the EFL's biggest talent since Grealish, given what he has already achieved in the game at such an incredibly young age.
Dowman has won the Premier League, even contributing to one of Arsenal's wins with his goal against Everton, and scored his first brace against a top-flight opponent against Ipswich earlier this month.
He appears to have an incredibly bright future ahead of him in the game, but West Brom, Wolves, or Norwich could take advantage of him needing some more experience of playing regular football before he kicks on with the Gunners in the years to come.
Dowman could join a Championship team in the January transfer window and provide them with a boost at the top end of the pitch, in an attempt to drag them to promotion in the same way that Grealish once did with Villa.
Max Dowman
Max Dowman
His return of 20 goals and ten assists in 25 matches for Arsenal's U18s suggests that he has the potential to deliver consistent quality, like Grealish, as a player who can play out wide or through the middle as a playmaker.
It is now down to the Baggies to join Norwich and Wolves in the race for his signature, as they could benefit from bringing him to The Hawthorns as their own version of the former Villa star.
Dowman, given the fact that he is a Premier League winner and record-breaker, could be the biggest talent to step foot in the division since Grealish, and that is why West Brom must throw their hat into the ring.