West Bromwich Albion boss Carlos Corberan has challenged Nathaniel Chalobah to return to the starting line-up after the midfielder fell out of favor at the Hawthorns.
The England international joined the Baggies in January from Premier League side Fulham after failing to feature regularly under Marco Silva at Craven Cottage.
However, his time in the West Midlands was not much more pleasant.
This player has had to sit on the bench for most of this season.
After starting the opening day at Ewood Park in a 2-1 loss to Blackburn Rovers, Chalobah was dropped and the manager preferred to use Alex Mowatt, Ok Yokuslu and Jayson Molumby rather than the former Watford man.
Speaking at the press conference ahead of today’s clash at Preston North End, Corberan revealed what Chalobah will have to do to return to the starting line-up [quotes via Birmingham Live]:
“What happens will depend a lot on our development.
What I saw at Chalobah was important; I really liked how he reacted this week.
I like when players respond by training harder than before to have more opportunities to compete.
“Then, when they have the opportunity to play, they have to work even harder to get more minutes in the next match.
It is challenging, not just for Chalobah but for everyone,” he continued.
“When he plays, he faces the challenge of defending his place in the team.
When they cannot take advantage of this opportunity in the starting lineup or from the bench, they have a week to prepare.
“I can’t tell you what will happen in football, but what happens will be related to what the players show when they have the opportunity to play.
Writer’s point of view
Chalobah has less than a year left on his contract and will likely become a free agent at the end of the 2023/24 season unless Corberan changes his mind.
It seems the manager is not keen on the former Chelsea man, so perhaps it would be better for his career if he wanted to leave in January.