Tony Pulis made his first foray into the transfer market as manager of West Brom by acquiring Callum McManaman from Wigan. Arriving at the Hawthorns on a three-and-a-half year contract, the 23-year-old winger admitted the lure of the English top flight was too good to turn down:
“I’m really made up to have joined. When the chance came to move to West Bromwich Albion, and return to the Premier League, I couldn’t turn it down. This is a great move for me and I hope the Albion fans will get to see the best of me. Albion are a great club, with a good tradition. I can’t wait to get going.”
His new manager was also delighted with the deal. After chasing the wide man’s signature for a number of days, Pulis took to the West Brom website to talk up his prospects:
“I’m delighted we’ve got Callum and I believe he will be an exciting addition to our numbers. Callum is a player who can improve our options and I am really looking forward to working with him.”
The History
The Merseyside-born McManaman started his youth career at Everton but after eight years at the Goodison club, was released back in 2006 and signed for the Latics following year.
After a couple of seasons in the reserves under Roberto Martinez, McManaman became Wigan’s youngest ever player to feature in the top flight after earning his league debut in May 2009. The then-Latics boss was somewhat cautious with the winger’s pitch time, though, and McManaman played just 11 times across all competitions over the following three seasons, supplying two goals and a pair of assists for the DW club. A three-month loan deal at Blackpool in 2011/12 produced two goals in 14 appearances before he returned to his parent club in time for the following campaign.
It’s fair to say that McManaman has struggled for consistency in the final third, though. The highlight of his time at Wigan was a man-of-the-match display in the 2013 FA Cup Final, where he helped clinch a shock win over Manchester City, but aside from that, his displays have been erratic. Over a total of 109 appearances across all competitions, he mustered 17 goals and eight assists, with five strikes in 23 Championship matches this season proving his most prolific. The Baggies new boy has made four appearances for the England Under-20 side but is yet to manage the step up to senior level.
The Prospects
Having started with the predominantly left-footed Chris Brunt on the Baggies right in both of his league matches in charge, Pulis is now clearly determined to add more width to his side’s play to stretch opposition backlines. McManaman’s pace and trickery on the ball certainly adds a new dimension to the Midlands side and it seems likely he’ll be handed the position on the right, though he’s versatile enough to be fielded as an inverted winger out left.
As we’ve witnessed already, Pulis isn’t afraid to alter his tactics in accordance with opponent. At home to Hull on his debut at the helm, he rolled out a 4-4-2 with Saido Berahino alongside Brown Ideye up top, but despite netting his side’s winner, the former was moved to the left flank away to Everton the following Gameweek as Pulis moved to 4-5-1. With more options out wide, though, it remains to be seen whether the Baggies boss will continue to utilise Berahino on the flank for road trips, though the youngster’s lack of physical presence suggests he’s not as well equipped to lead the line as a lone striker compared to the more robust Ideye or Victor Anichebe.
Certainly, Pulis’ record so far – one goal and two clean sheets in two matches – suggests that, as we’d anticipated, West Brom’s defence may be the safest option for those looking to invest in the Hawthorns side. Given that Chris Baird dropped out of the starting XI for the weekend cup win at Birmingham, Andre Wisdom remains the backline option of choice for many and it may well be that with a natural right winger in front of him now, putting defenders on the back foot and creating space behind, he’ll will be afforded greater freedom to forage forward and support more attacks in the opponents’ half.
Likely to come in at no more than 5.5 in the Fantasy Premier League (FPL) game, McManaman has showdowns against Burnley, Swansea, Sunderland and Villa in the next six to cement a starting role in the Baggies XI and given that no other West Brom midfielder has scored more than once this season, the new boy certainly has the chance to stake a claim. With the “Pulis effect” already taking effect at the back, though, and the likes of Jason Puncheon, Adam Johnson, Victor Moses and Eljero Elia all vying for our attentions in the budget midfield bracket, McManaman will need to up his game in order to become a genuine contender for our 15-man squads.
