Considering Ryan Mason is still a novice in the main managerial game, he has started life in the West Bromwich Albion dug-out with some promise.
Entering the international break, the Baggies only find themselves five points off the top of the tree in the Championship, with four victories picked up from their opening nine second-tier outings.
Still, just a quick glimpse doesn’t quite tell the full story, with West Brom picking up a concerning three defeats from their last five games, leaving Mason with plenty to sort out during this enforced break from fixtures.
Isaac Price will also view the break as time to assess where it has all gone wrong for him in recent weeks, after a blistering start out of the blocks from the Northern Ireland international helped the Baggies be in and around the promotion spaces straight away.
Price's up-and-down form
Even if the 22-year-old has found his form has gone off the boil in the Championship, he will also know he can be a hero for his nation away from the Hawthorns, having scored a wonderfully taken strike against Germany during the last international stretch of matches.
Bagging a much-needed strike for Northern Ireland could reignite his faltering league form, therefore, with Price now without a goal for Mason and Co. in league action across their last six up-and-down matches in the topsy-turvy division.
The ex-Everton youth prodigy, before experiencing this crisis in confidence, started the season with an unbelievable four goal contributions from his opening three league clashes, with scout Jacek Kulig once noting that the Baggies’ number 21 was a “fantastic” asset for the future.
For Price’s sake, he will hope he can breathe life back into his wavering campaign, sooner rather than later.
However, he isn’t the only rising star catching the eye in the West Midlands currently, with this other exciting youngster perhaps being seen as an even bigger talent than Price now.
Why Mason has a bigger talent than Price
While it’s undoubtedly true that Price is a Championship-level star, he has had to deal with some turmoil in his early career so far to be where he is today.
Indeed, the 22-year-old would have to relocate to Standard Liege to rebuild his senior playing days after making just three senior appearances for Everton.
On the contrary, Toby Collyer – who is now Price’s midfield teammate for the season – is already 13 appearances down for Manchester United at a senior level and is already turning heads in the West Midlands.
Since making his Red Devils’ men’s debut at just 20 years of age under Erik ten Hag, Collyer has never looked back, with this off-the-line clearance against Fulham last year backing up claims made by one of his former youth coaches in Mark Beard, that the three-time England U20 international is “like a Kante” when it comes to his energy and drive to succeed for his team.
Further lauded as being a star that “plays like two men” by Beard, it would have been viewed as a coup by West Brom when they won his loan signature this summer, and – although it hasn’t gone to plan completely for the 21-year-old yet in his fresh location – he did still manage to stand out last time out against Millwall, even when Mason and Co. were on the recieving end of a 3-0 battering.
Minutes played
90
Goals scored
0
Assists
0
Touches
66
Accurate passes
41/47 (87%)
Clearances
4
Interceptions
2
Tackles
4
Total duels won
7/10
While Collyer’s introduction into the first team fold couldn’t inspire a win at the Den, it’s safe to say the new number 13 could trudge off at the end with his head held somewhat high, with a bite present in his game when winning 70% of his duels, on top of also only misdirecting six of his 47 passes on the day.
Price, on the other hand, would only register a meagre 17 accurate passes during the 3-0 collapse, with a worry on his end that he could be dropped when Championship action returns later this month.
Collyer will be hopeful of more starts moving forward, away from Price’s form falling off a cliff, as the youngster aims to use this formative loan stint as a way to boost his long-term Old Trafford future.
