Over the weekend it was reported by Alan Nixon that Jordan Hugill’s time at West Bromwich Albion could be coming to an end.
The news around Hugill’s potential recall back to Norwich City may not have been a surprise as the striker has massively struggled to get going at West Brom this season. However, the news that Hugill is being recalled and will most likely be used by Norwich and Dean Smith is what has people the most surprised.
There is clearly a player who can score goals at Championship level in Hugill but he has struggled to hit the ground running in his time at West Brom.
Here we go through three reasons as to why it hasn’t worked out for Hugill at West Brom…
Competition for places
During his time at the Baggies, Hugill has mainly been utilised as a bench player and an impact substitute who Valerien Ismael will bring on in the last 25 minutes of a game looking for a goal.
Fighting for a place in the starting XI with talented players such as Karlan Grant, Callum Robinson, and Grady Diangana has not been ideal for Hugill and he has struggled to get a run of games in the starting XI during his time at the club.
READ: West Brom handed blow in pursuit of PL striker
West Brom were reportedly (Sun on Sunday, 05.12.21) going to be on the hunt for a new striker in January no matter what Hugill’s situation at the club was, so if Norwich did not choose to recall him, it may have forced Hugill to fall further down the pecking order come the end of January.
Inability to score goals
Hugill is the prime example of a striker whose job is not just to score goals. He is a player who will work with his back to goal and look to bring others into play.
Although this is Hugill’s primary role in any team he has ever been in, when he has been given good chances to score goals for West Brom, he has failed to take them.
One stat actually shows that is the most under-performing striker in the Championship based on expected goals. Hugill has 4.17 expected goals per actual goal he has scored this season which is statistically by far the worst in the league.
Lack of confidence
When Hugill is at his most confident, he scores goals in the Championship for fun. We have seen that during his spells at QPR, Preston, and occasionally Norwich.
With Hugill’s poor form along with the stick he has been receiving from the West Brom fans, Hugill’s confidence would’ve been massively dented, and as everyone knows, confidence is a huge part of any strikers game.
