West Bromwich Albion are back in action in the Championship on Good Friday as they prepare to welcome Wrexham to The Hawthorns after the international break.
The Baggies are looking to make it three successive wins in the second tier in their bid to avoid relegation to League One in the final seven games of the campaign.
James Morrison came in as the interim head coach to replace Eric Ramsay, who failed to win a single game, and has won his last two games against Hull and Bristol City.
Something that makes the former attacking midfielder’s recent results all the more impressive is that he has been without key attacker Mikey Johnston.
The Republic of Ireland international has been out with a stress fracture in his ankle since the defeat to Oxford United in Morrison’s first game in charge, playing just 22 minutes of the first half.
Analysing Mikey Johnston’s season for West Brom
Despite the club’s poor season overall, as they are battling relegation instead of for promotion, Johnston has caught the eye with his performances on the flank.
The former Celtic star leads the squad in the Championship this season in ‘big chances’ created (11), key passes per game (1.6), xA (7.59), and assists (nine), which speaks to how important he is to the team from a creative perspective.
Johnston has racked up two goals and nine assists in 27 league starts for the Baggies, whilst also completing a team-high 1.7 dribbles per game, and could be on even more than that if not for the ankle injury that he is currently dealing with.
The Irishman’s Transfermarkt value has soared as a result of his strong form on the pitch for West Brom. He was valued at £2.6m at the time of his move from Celtic and is now worth £3.5m at the time of writing.
Whilst the Baggies have hit gold with Johnston, because of his performances and rising value, there is another player in the squad who is worth even more than him, and who could be Morrison’s own Romelu Lukaku.
West Brom could unearth their next Lukaku
Baggies fans may still have fond memories of when the club had Lukaku on loan from Chelsea in the 2012/13 campaign, because he scored 17 goals in 35 Premier League matches.
The Belgian centre-forward was a phenomenal player for West Brom because he brought physicality, mobility, and exceptional quality in front of goal to the team, which is how he almost scored 20 top-flight goals in one season.
Now, Morrison could unearth his own version of the powerhouse in Baggies star Aune Heggebo, who has the potential to be a brilliant number nine at The Hawthorns.
The Norwegian star, like Lukaku, offers a physical outlet at the top end of the pitch. He has won 2.5 aerial duels per game in the Championship this season, which shows that he can compete with physical central defenders in England.
Heggebo has also shown glimpses of the quality that he can offer in the final third in the second tier, scoring nine goals in 31 starts in his first season with the Baggies.
Like Lukaku during his time at West Brom early on in his career, Heggebo is also a mobile striker who can run off the last line and run at defenders with the ball at his feet.
In fact, the Norwegian number nine ranks in the top 11% of forwards in the division for completed dribbles (23) and the top 14% for dribble success rate (56%), which is evidence of his mobility and quality in possession.
|
25/26 Championship |
Heggebo |
|---|---|
|
Starts |
31 |
|
xG |
9.88 |
|
xG on target |
9.32 |
|
Goals |
9 |
|
Chances created |
22 |
|
Assists |
3 |
|
Duels won |
194 |
Heggebo’s Transfermarkt value has also soared as a result of his impressive first season in English football since his move from Brann last summer.
At the time of writing, his Transfermarkt value is £6.1m. That is more than double the market value of £3m that he had at the time of his transfer to England last year, which shows that the club have hit the jackpot with the forward.
Heggebo, who is worth even more than Johnston, has the technical and physical qualities to be a Lukaku-esque centre-forward for Morrison, but it is down to the manager to build a team that creates enough chances for the striker.
If West Brom, possibly when Johnston is back fit, can create high-quality chances for the Norwegian star on a regular basis, Heggebo could go on to be a clinical and powerful goalscorer for the club, just as Lukaku was during his loan spell.
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