"First name on the teamsheet" - West Brom lauded for big Alex Mowatt call in summer | OneFootball

FLW's West Brom fan pundit believes if you take Alex Mowatt out of the Baggies' side they would struggle massively

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

West Brom find themselves firmly in the thick of the Championship promotion race, but their ongoing six-match winless run threatens to undo all of their good early season work.

Just eight points off top spot, it's evident just how much that winless streak has distorted West Brom's impressive start, but it hasn't distracted too much away from some impressive individual performances at the start of the season.

Josh Maja has taken most of the acclaim with his seven goals so far, planting him among the frontrunners for the golden boot, while yet more impressive Tom Fellows performances have caught the eye of Everton as the January transfer window looms ever nearer.

One man who has perhaps drifted under the radar a bit if Alex Mowatt, who has played in all 12 of the Baggies Championship games so far this season.

Mowatt played 45 times for Carlos Corberan in the Championship last season, so it's evident that the former Leeds and Middlesbrough man is among his favourites in the squad.

Mowatt should be the first name on the teamsheet

Mowatt is certainly a fans' favourite too, not only because of the lung-busting yards he covers in the middle of the park every week, but also because he's a premier entertainer with an eye for the spectacular.

That's a sentiment echoed by Football League World'sWest Brom fan pundit Callum Burgess, who claimed that "so far this season, the most important name on the team sheet is Alex Mowatt."

"His importance to the team is shown with how important he is to our build-up play, where if you were to take him out I think it would make it even more of a struggle for Albion to create chances than it has been a times.

"A lot of our possession comes from him dropping deep between the centre backs and trying to build up from there.

"If he hadn't signed a new contract in the summer, then we'd be in a lot more difficult position.

"I'd say so far this season he's been one of the standout midfielders in the Championship, so definitely, for me Alex Mowatt would be the first name on the teamsheet".

Mowatt is finally coming close living up to his potential

Mowatt has endured a tricky career up to this point, becoming somewhat of a journeyman in the middle part of his career, with loan spells at Oxford and Middlesbrough before Corberan revived his West Brom career

A product of the Leeds academy, it was at Elland Road where Mowatt first made his name, particularly in the 2014/15 season where his nine goals from midfield caught the eye.

That remains his best goalscoring season to date, but after a move to Barnsley and a spell in League One helped build his confidence back up, he has now become integral to a side battling at the top end of the Championship table.

As Mowatt has matured, he's added a bit of everything to his game.

Rewind 10 years, and he was a fresh-faced academy graduate at Elland Road scoring screamers and doing not much else, but now he's still got that eye for the spectacular, but he's far more combative and turned into a much more well-rounded midfielder.

So much so that FLW's West Brom fan pundit Callum believes he should be the first name on the teamsheet every week.