‘Grounded’ West Brom loanee Mo Faal receives praise from Grant McCann after making his Doncaster debut
After Mo Faal, a loanee from West Brom, had a strong debut for Doncaster Rovers, Grant McCann has heaped praise on the 20-year-old.
Faal, a forward with the Baggies, temporarily joined the League Two team this summer. Faal has had an immediate impact, scoring four goals in the first 12 games of the season, despite the fact that Rovers have won only four of their first 13 games and are currently seated in 19th place in the division.
McCann has admitted that the Albion loanee still has areas of his game to improve on, but was quick to suggest that he will go on to have a very special career, admitting he would like to have him in his side for the next few years.
Speaking to BBC Radio Sheffield on Thursday (19 October) he said: “He’s going to be top and we’re fortunate that we’ve got him here in his first loan. Give him two or three years the lad is going to be unplayable. It’s great we’ve got him now but it would be lovely to have him for the next three years but he’s not our player.
“He’s a really grounded lad and that’s half the battle these days, you can have good players but maybe not at the point where they don’t want to learn anymore and Mo’s not like that, he wants to get better, he wants to learn.
“He’s a young player, it’s his first loan in the football league so he was always going to take a little bit of time to get going, early on when he came in he showed glimpses of what he’s about. But I think now he’s realising what his strengths are. We know he’s good when he comes into pockets and turns and receives but we want him more in the box.”
Good start
The progression from academy football into playing in the football league is never a particularly easy step for young players to make and it can be especially difficult for strikers given the physicality of defenders in the lower tiers of English football.
Faal seems to have taken to it like a duck to water in a side that haven’t found it particularly easy to score goals or get results in the early stages of the season, with the 20-year-old Rovers’ second top scorer this season behind Joe Ironside.
Given West Brom’s lack of striking options currently with Josh Maja and Daryl Dike sidelined with injury, Faal could prove to be a useful addition to Carlos Corberan’s striking options in the coming seasons, even if he needs a few more loan moves before playing at The Hawthorns.
If nothing else, it is excellent that the Albion forward seems to have a manager who believes in him and is willing to throw him in the deep end of matches, which will be a huge benefit to the striker and West Brom in the long run.
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