edWest Brom got back on track at the weekend, winning their first league game in seven attempts whilst also taking control of their throne back from their nearest challengers, Leeds United.
The situation
Slaven Bilic made measures to bolster his defensive ranks in the transfer window, making a surprise swoop for Cardiff City full-back Lee Peltier, possibly under the presumption that academy grad Nathan Ferguson was leaving for Crystal Palace.
The Croatian has also opted to start fellow youth player Dara O’Shea in recent weeks, starting him at right-back during their last two Championship outings as well as in their FA Cup victory over West Ham United.
It now appears as if he has a wealth of options at his disposal defensively, which only raises question marks over who will feature – and who won’t.
Rising doubt
The player that has been dropped recently, at the expense of O’Shea’s involvement, is summer signing Darnell Furlong.
He’s played 26 times in the league this season but has only managed to feature for a total of 25 minutes in back-to-back matches as a substitute.
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As the Irishman is a centre-back by trade, it surely raises doubt over whether or not Bilic actually trusts Furlong as it makes much more sense to play the natural right-back in his position.
Even the arrival of Peltier was quite the shock, he’s another right-sided option who has played 25 times this season for the Bluebirds.
Given that there is now serious competition in his role and his recent exclusion from the starting lineup, it seems the 24-year-old’s immediate future is a little suspect as there’s been nothing to suggest he should be dropped.
Where is he from?! Can you name which obscure countries these famous players have represented?
In fact, he’s been one of Albion’s most consistent performers this campaign, averaging a rating of 6.84 as well as 1.8 clearances, 1.1 tackles and 0.8 key passes per game, via WhoScored.
This weekend’s trip to Millwall will provide further clues into whether it’s actually an issue or merely team selection.
And in other news, here’s what fans have been saying about Nathan Ferguson this week…