BREAKING NEWS:CARLOS CORBERAN HAS BEEN FIRED
Grimsby manager Paul Hurst has heaped praise on West Brom loanee Jamie Andrews for how he has adapted to life on loan with the League Two side.
The 21-year-old left The Hawthorns on a season-long loan this summer having been handed his first-team debut by Carlos Corberan last season in the FA Cup against Chesterfield, before signing a one-year extension to his contract at the end of the 2022/23 campaign.
Andrews has featured six times for Hurst’s side so far this season, starting three League Two matches and picking up a single assist as Grimsby sit 18th in England’s fourth tier, but the the Mariners boss has been impressed with the attitude of the Albion loane
As quoted by the Express & Star on Tuesday (10 October) he said: “He’s obviously pretty good on the ball, pretty comfortable, he’s got a nice left foot. But the other thing I’ve been pleased about is the way that he’s competed.
“I think when he came in, probably through no fault of his own, he wasn’t as fit as he could be and I can remember during the first bit of training he found that quite difficult even though it was only a short and sharp session. But I think the way he’s maybe trained at his parent club it’s not quite the same.
“I think he’s took a little bit of time to get up to speed but always showed a good attitude and willingness to do so. Now he’s reaping the benefit whereas before he’d have struggled to get through 90 minutes at that tempo, he’s done that in the last couple of games and is starting to show he’s a good player.”
For Andrews, this season represents an opportunity for him to show Albion and Carlos Corberan why he deserves to extend his stay at The Hawthorns beyond this season when that one-year extension to his contract runs out at the end of the current campaign.
The 21-year-old needs to show that he is capable of reaching the standard of West Brom’s current players otherwise he may not be able to earn a new deal with the Baggies and could be left to explore the free-agent market.
Given the current financial situation at The Hawthorns, where Corberan’s funding is rather limited given the lack of investment from the ownership of West Brom they won’t be able to just give players contracts for the sake of it and should Andrews struggle in the fourth tier, it is hard to see how he would make it in the Championship.
But, if the 21-year-old can build off of the excellent attitude and willingness he has shown in the early stages of his loan switch throughout the remainder of the campaign, he may well be able to play his way back into the thinking of the West Brom boss.
In other West Brom news, Corberan has predicted that Baggies supporters will see more of Tom Fellows in the coming weeks
