West Bromwich Albion have been deep in the waters of the Championship for some time now, having been absent from the exclusive club of the Premier League since 2021.
This is the Baggies’ fourth straight campaign in the second tier, therefore, with one promotion near miss suffered along the way as Carlos Corberan’s side tripped up in the playoff mix last season to eventual promotion winners Southampton.
The Spaniard occupying the Hawthorns dug-out will just want his players to step up more with exciting displays to really push for a space in the top flight, with Matheus Pereira acting as a memorable hero for the Baggies last time the sweet taste of promotion was lapped up.
Pereira's promotion heroics
Pereira would become a modern-day icon in the West Midlands during the 2019/20 season, with his heroics in terms of scoring goals and supplying chances galore for teammates undoubtedly helping his side reach the promised land of the Premier League.
In total, during that memorable promotion-winning campaign, the captivating South American would fire home eight goals and pick a ridiculous 20 assists in the league, as the ex-Baggies number 12 made the second tier his playground at points.
He would later go on to be a hit in the top flight too, before breaking West Brom hearts everywhere when leaving for Al-Hilal in 2021, but he is still fondly remembered for being a major reason why Slaven Bilic’s men soared up to the top-flight.
Corberan will pray he has his own version of Pereira right now – even as his side routinely fire blanks in the Championship – in this sharpshooter up top.
Corberan's very own Pereira
Josh Maja has already bettered Pereira’s goalscoring numbers in the league with nine strikes notched up from just 15 league clashes, with the ex-Sunderland attacker hopeful other members of the camp can do the heavy lifting on the assist front.
Still, every good promotion-winning side needs a deadly centre-forward and the Baggies have thankfully uncovered that in Maja, who was having a rocky time of things at the Hawthorns before coming alive this season.
Stat
23/24
24/25
Games played
12
15
Games started
1
15
Goals scored
1
9
Assists
0
1
Last campaign, Maja’s injury demons got the better of him with just one start coming his way in the league for Corberan’s men. Whereas, this season he has been a consistent starter when injury free, as West Brom’s patience paid off.
Corberan even labelled the 25-year-old attacker as “special” during the heights of these previous issues in the Hawthorns treatment room and his glowing praise has now been very much vindicated, with stylish finishes like this one away at Luton Town at the start of the month the mark of a striker overflowing with confidence.
He has also played in the big time during his varied career to date, where he has bagged a respectable three goals from 15 appearances, meaning he could also follow in Pereira’s footsteps in taking the step up in his stride.
There are even rumours linking Maja with a bumper move away from the West Midlands this January, as reports begin to tout him with a £16.7m switch to Celta Vigo when the manic transfer window reopens.
Corberan will hope Maja remains loyal to the club that stood by him during his issues last season, because if he does stay put, he could be the club’s next Pereira by firing in all the pivotal goals that see the Baggies leap back up to the Premier League.
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