Having snapped up Ben Foster on a permanent deal earlier this month, Steve Clarke’s second move into the summer transfer market has brought Belgian midfielder Yassine El Ghanassy to the Hawthorns on a season-long loan. The 22-year-old arrives from Belgian outfit AA Gent with the Baggies afforded the option of making the deal permanent in the 2013/14 campaign…

A versatile player, El Ghanassy can play on either flank and also has the ability to be fielded up front – a factor which should be beneficial to his game time in the upcoming campaign and one that presents an intriguing option to Fantasy managers. The club’s sporting and technical director Dan Ashworth revealed El Ghanassy has been on the radar for a while now and was full of praise for the style of play that the new boy will bring to the Baggies:

“Yassine is a player we have watched develop for a couple of years. He has shown in Belgium his ability to put defenders on the back foot and create and score goals and he is on the fringes of the national team. He is an exciting, young player who we hope will grow into the league and prove a real asset. He offers us a different option and is the type of player I am sure our supporters will warm to and get right behind.”

The Statistics

El Ghanassy was picked up by La Louvière in his native country and made his way through their youth system before being handed a first-team debut in 2008 at the age of 18. He made just six league appearances for the club, though, before making his way to Gent. His first season in the Belgian top division consisted of a handful of games but the departure of Bryan Ruiz in the summer of 2009 allowed El Ghanassy to nail down a regular first-team role.

In his second full season for Gent, the youngster demonstrated the potential that saw the likes of Man City and AC Milan cast an eye over his possible acquisition, with 12 assists and six goals from 30 league appearances helping his side to the title. El Ghanassy is mainly renowned for his creativity and looking at the stats, it’s clear to see why – in total, he played 90 times for his former club, returning 10 goals and 22 assists before the Baggies came calling this summer.

The Prospects

West Brom were hardly prolific last time round – a total of 45 goals scored was worse than two of the relegated sides (Bolton and Blackburn) and indicative of their struggles going forward under Roy Hodgson. Bearing in mind that this is Clarke’s first stint in the managerial hotseat, the jury may be out on the Baggies potential for the season ahead, though the new boss has already hinted at a more attacking approach, particularly at the Hawthorns.

While this could prompt us to reassess the likes of Peter Odemwingie after the Nigerian’s poor previous campaign, Clarke has admitted he may take his time to integrate El Ghanassy into the first-team, suggesting it’s perhaps a better bet to hold fire for just now and assess the midfielder’s potential game time. At 5.5 in Fantasy Premier League (FPL) and only 4.7 in the Sky Sports game, though, he looks an intriguing proposition and, if fielded up front, would offer us an out-of-position prospect too, given that both games classify El Ghanassy as a midfielder.

“He is an exciting prospect who will add something different to our squad. We believe he has got the raw talent to make an impact here. This is a big move for Yassine. We’ll have to be patient with him as he settles into a new country and gets to grips with the demands of the Premier League.”

Clarke’s opening couple of fixtures – home to Liverpool and away at Spurs – suggests he may keep with those players more accustomed to the rigours of the Premier League before unleashing El Ghanassy in a starting role. With home clashes against (EVE, RDG, QPR) in the following five Gameweeks, the young Belgian could well be one to watch if his manager affords him the game time his talent deserves.

Further Reference

Yassine El Ghanassy Wikipedia
El Ghanassy Statistics
El Ghanassy YouTube