West Brom star Jed Wallace names the Charlton Athletic player he "couldn't be happier for" | OneFootball

The West Brom captain is enjoying where the former Millwall academy man is heading this season

Jed Wallace has revealed that Charlton Athletic's Tanto Olaofe is "one of the best lads" he's come across during his career.

The 25-year-old came through the academy at Millwall, where the current West Brom captain spent five years as a permanent player between 2017 and 2022, as well as two loan spells before that.

Whilst Wallace went on to make 260 appearances for the Lions, Olaofe didn't have the same luck at the Den, spending various loan spells at the likes of Sutton United and St Johnstone before moving to Stockport County in January 2022.

Upon his departure to Edgeley Park, the 25-year-old had made just three Millwall appearances, but since then, he's worked his way back from League Two to the Championship once more, where he's excelling under Nathan Jones.

Wallace knew that Olaofe had the work rate from his time at the Millwall academy, and is extremely pleased to see that hard work pays off for him currently.

Jed Wallace heaps praise on Tanto Olaofe

Speaking on the NTT20 podcast, Wallace actually interjected when host Ali Maxwell was running down Charlton's 3-0 win over Blackburn Rovers, the second goal of which was assisted by Olaofe, to heap praise onto the Addicks striker.

"Just to interrupt you there, Ali, he's [Olaofe] one of the best lads I think I've ever come across in football," Wallace said.

"You know when you see someone do well for themselves...I couldn't be happier for him because he's such a nice lad, and he's so hard-working.

"Obviously, he's come through at Millwall, really backed himself by dropping down the leagues, and now he's back in the Championship - couldn't be happier for him."

Olaofe became a fan favourite at Stockport under Dave Challinor due to his energy and fearlessness to run at defenders and look to impose himself. Currently, he's becoming popular at Charlton for that same reason, and has a goal and an assist in his last two games.

"He's one of the most popular and nicest lads in the dressing room, and you can see in the way he plays, he'll chase after everything, fight his way through everything," Wallace added.

"He's someone who is getting what he deserves, and I'm so happy for him."

Tanto Olaofe is banging on the door for some Championship starts

It's no secret what Olaofe brings to the game. What he may lack in composure and smoothness on the ball, he makes up for with his raw pace, energy and athleticism.

Maxwell dubbed his role off the bench currently as "the disruptor," running down channels and causing problems for tired defences late on in games, and whilst that doesn't always result in goal contributions, two in his last two don't go amiss.

Therefore, for a Charlton side who have struggled to score goals when Olaofe hasn't been on the pitch - they've only netted three of their seven Championship goals without the 25-year-old present - perhaps it may be time for Nathan Jones to start deploying their "disruptor" from the off.

The question there lies whether the 25-year-old's role is better suited from the bench; however, as the former Millwall academy product does provide a different dynamic against defenders who have already had to endure around 75 minutes of defending in a game.