Romaine Sawyers Integral to West Brom’s Promotion Hopes

Romaine Sawyers returned to his boyhood club at the end of July bringing an impressive reputation with him from throughout the EFL. This piece will look at the reasons why he can be integral to the West Brom’s promotion hopes.

Why Romaine Sawyers Is Key to West Brom’s Promotion Hopes

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One problem which players can encounter when moving to a new club is the settling-in phase. However, with Sawyers’ previous nine-year spell rising through the ranks at The Hawthorns, this won’t be a problem. Also with his family still living in the West Midlands area, he should fit in seamlessly. This increases the likelihood that he can show his technical qualities very quickly and on a consistent basis. He describes the move as returning “home” and if there’s any place he’ll want to thrive it will be The Hawthorns.

EFL Experience

After six years away from The Hawthorns, Sawyers returns with far more experience as a player and as a person. This is potentially down to loan spells and his two permanent clubs since leaving Albion. Sawyers has had to prove himself in the lower leagues of the EFL with three loan spells. This includes two in the fourth division of English football with Port Vale and Shrewsbury Town respectively. He also possesses three years of third division football with Walsall, including an initial loan spell. It can be presumed that his physical attributes were tested in the lower leagues alongside his character and technical ability. After three years spent in the Championship with Brentford, Sawyers has the vital championship experience that’s needed to help push the Baggies towards the top.

Pure Ability

Sawyers possesses impressive vision, technique, and composure which can be seen in his passing range and ability. This is proved by stats such as the fact that he completed the second-highest amount of passes into the final third during 18/19 which was a league-high. Other stats such as a pass completion rate of 87.9% and a long pass completion rate of 60.7%. As Sawyers dropped deeper into a number eight role for Brentford he has had to adapt his game defensively. Playing traditionally as a ten it’s impressive that Sawyers averages more tackles per game than Rekeem Harper with 1.4 tackles and is pretty much on par with fellow midfielders Chris Brunt and Gareth Barry. This proves that Sawyers can be adaptable in that midfield role.