Mikey Johnston, the attacking counterpart of West Bromwich Albion, has made a tremendous impact at The Hawthorns since joining on loan from Scottish champions Celtic in January, and according to Jed Wallace, he is presently the finest player in the Championship. Since making his debut for Carlos Corberan, winger Johnston has been a force on the left for the team.
He has six goals in seven starts. On Saturday, he contributed to both of Albion’s goals in their 2-0 victory over Bristol City, as Tom Fellows and Wallace scored goals just after halftime to extend the Baggies’ current winning streak. A week ago, Johnston scored two goals in the crushing of Huddersfield Town. Since then, he has made it a habit to cut inside and surprise the opposition goalie.
After an otherwise unpredictable winter, Albion’s form has been crucial in helping them to stay in the running for the play-offs. With the addition of Johnston and the advancements made by Fellows, Albion is in much better shape now than they were when they lost Jeremy Sarmiento due to a short-term loan. Wallace is clearly feeling the influence of the Irish international and is seeing a rise in confidence in his new surroundings.
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The way he’s playing right now, in my opinion, makes him the best player in the league. “Maybe I should have played you in on one of them,” he actually remarked to me following the QPR game. I said, ‘The way you’re playing, just kick it towards the goal and we’ll go from there!'” He’s burning right now. Jonno has performed admirably, and I’m glad for him.
“It’s wonderful to see somebody venture outside of their comfort zone and come here and do well, especially when you’re at a huge club like Celtic and people there might not trust in him as much as he would like. That was what we required in January. All three of them, in their own unique ways. Even Cal, who I know hasn’t played much football, has incredible energy and passion, which he uses to pull people along during training. Andi has scored a couple of huge goals for us.
“You have to believe what Carlos is doing because he knows it’s a 95-minute game of football and you’ve seen our goals off the bench, that can make a difference with the squad and substitutes we can bring on,” the player said. “January additions have given us a real energy and now we have Matty and Josh to come back into it as well.”
In terms of his own fitness levels, Johnston also showed a big improvement on Saturday. He finished his debut game for Albion against the Robins, despite not having played 90 minutes in a competitive encounter since his loan spell with Portuguese team Vitoria Guimaraes in May. That could serve him especially well for the rest of the season as Albion looks to secure a spot in the play-offs.
Carlos Corberan noted, “It was a long time since he last played a full game.” It’s critical that he continues to develop both physically and in all facets of the game. Since he aided the guy who assisted in the second goal, you cannot judge a player solely on goals and assists.
“In my opinion, his contribution is always significant overall, but he is a winger who plays wide and inside, even on the right, and can complete attacks, support group activities, complete individual actions, or finish collective actions. It is crucial to have players at this level in order to win games.
“As a player, it’s crucial to go above and beyond the allotted minutes. This will make you more prepared to play more minutes when you do, or to play with greater energy when you play fewer minutes. Thus, it’s a step in the right direction. After the international call that he so richly deserves, perhaps he returns healthy and ready to continue demonstrating what he can do.”
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