West Brom boss Ryan Mason told he must make key tweak for Man Utd man's sake - it involves Alex Mowatt | OneFootball

FLW's Baggies fan pundit has been discussing Toby Collyer's start to life at The Hawthorns.

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 turned heads when they completed the season-long loan signing of highly-rated Manchester United midfielder Toby Collyer in the summer transfer window.

Albion have enjoyed a largely strong start to Ryan Mason's first season in charge at The Hawthorns, with his side firmly among the early-season promotion contenders in the Championship.

Despite losing some key players over the summer such as Tom Fellows, Torbjorn Heggem and Darnell Furlong respectively, the Baggies were able to make some exciting new additions of their own.

That included a clear focus on shopping in the Premier League, with Samuel Iling-Junior, Alfie Gilchrist, Chris Mepham, Nat Phillips and Collyer respectively, all arriving from top flight clubs.

"Harsh to judge" - Claim made on Toby Collyer's start to life at West Brom after Manchester United loan move

At 21, and after making 13 first-team appearances for Manchester United last season, Collyer was granted the opportunity to head out on loan to the Championship for the 2025/26 season, with West Brom securing his services.

However, through the first 10 league games of the campaign, the England youth international has appeared in nine of those, but started only two, comprising of 212 minutes of second tier action for the young midfielder so far.

That may be all he gets for a little while now too, as he was withdrawn after 55 minutes in Albion's 2-1 win over Preston North End last time out after alerting the bench that he was struggling with a hamstring issue.

We asked our West Brom fan pundit, Callum Burgess: 'What have you made of Toby Collyer in a West Brom shirt so far? Are you surprised he's not cemented a starting role yet given his Man United pedigree, and how much of a blow will it be if he's suffered a significant injury vs Preston North End?'

Callum said: "He's (Collyer) of course not had many minutes so far, so it would be quite harsh to judge his ability.

"But I thought he did reasonably well against Preston North End in his hour before he had to come off injured. I think that he would complement Alex Mowatt well, and if he does start, it's got to be alongside Mowatt rather than Jayson Molumby, as he did at Millwall (West Brom lost 3-0).

"You've got the balance that Mowatt brings in midfield with his playmaking ability, and being able to platform the midfielder next to him, who would be given the freedom to be more of a box-to-box player like Molumby is.

"I think that he (Collyer) will get a fair few minutes this season should he stay here, and as long as his injury isn't serious, but I think that it's probably fair the minutes that he's had so far.

"There might be an uptick in minutes in the near future, as long as he stays fully fit."

Toby Collyer's underlying Championship stats paint encouraging picture for big West Brom season

Callum makes a sound suggestion in regards to West Brom potentially getting the best out of Collyer if he starts alongside Mowatt, rather than Molumby.

Mowatt is the metronome in Mason's midfield, keeping things neat and tidy, seldom giving the ball away, as well as launching and providing support in the attack too.

Collyer looks to be a similar profile of player to Albion's experienced 30-year-old campaigner, and so having him operate alongside the former Middlesbrough, Barnsley and Leeds United man could do wonders for his learning and progression.

Although he has only racked up three-and-a-half hours of Championship football so far this season, his underlying numbers certainly tell a story of huge potential.

As per FotMob, over the course of 90 minutes, Collyer is currently averaging 0.42 assists, 62.8 successful passes with a 90.8 per cent accuracy rate, creating 1.27 chances, having 85.3 touches of the ball, and successfully making 3.40 tackles.

All of those 90-minute averages rank among the best across all Championship central midfielders so far this season, proving that when he is on the pitch, he's certainly making an impact for West Brom.

Therefore, despite the fact he's not yet solidified a starting role in Mason's side, the youngster looks primed to step into a key role at a moment's notice, and could well have a big part to play in Albion's promotion push this term.