West Brom goalscorer Jayson Molumby relishing ‘amazing’ Okay Yokuslu partnership

West Bromwich Albion midfielder Jayson Molumby believes that the ‘balance’ between himself and Okay Yokuslu has been key to the Baggies’ success under Carlos Corberan so far. The duo have started together in 11 of the Spaniard’s 15 games in charge, proving beneficial to Albion’s upturn in form.

Molumby grabbed his side’s only goal in the 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday evening, with Yokuslu having offering a helping hand by forcing the opposition goalkeeper into a save before the Irishman then tapped home.

Molumby has relished the opportunity to build on-pitch chemistry with the Turkish international. “I think the gaffer and the style of play has helped a lot with that,” Molumby told WBATV. “There are a lot of boys who are pushing me and Okay for places in the team.

“I really enjoy playing with Okay, he’s a top player and he has some amazing attributes. I think he’s the calm head in there and I’m sprinting around, chasing people down.

“I think it works well. He stays in the middle and I guess I’m free to sort of run riot and get about the pitch. I really enjoy playing with him and we seem to have a good balance at the moment. There are some top players in our squad who want our places.

“I have been out of the team for some parts of the season myself and I know there are lads who aren’t playing regularly who want to get in and be a regular themselves. It’s down to the manager to pick the players he wants to go with in certain games and then it’s down to those players to perform on the pitch,” Molumby said.

The 23-year-old also enjoys a good friendship with fellow Irishman Dara O’Shea, with the pair playing for club and country together. O’Shea has been the one donning the captain’s armband under Corberan – something Molumby believes has helped in the dressing room.

“He’s a real leader in the group,” Molumby said. “Before he was handed the armband, Jake was playing a lot and he’s the club captain and he’s still the one who looks after everyone. Kyle Bartley was vice for a while and now Dara has taken on the armband. He’s done absolutely brilliantly to be fair.

”You can see that he’s really grown into it and I can see him getting more confident and becoming more of a natural leader. I’m delighted for him and he’s doing great,” Molumby added.

The Baggies were rock bottom of the Sky Bet Championship when Corberan took over, and he has propelled them to within an inch of the play-off places with Molumby attributing this to the work ethic that the Spaniard has instilled in the squad.

“We’ve developed a really strong bond in that dressing room,” Molumby said. “You can see that out on the pitch. All of the boys are running their socks off, whether they are starting or coming on from the bench. We’re battling for every ball. We know we’re going to need everyone.

“We’ve seen it happen so many times already this season where someone has come off the bench and made a massive impact on a game. I think it shows the mentality and character within the dressing room that lads are coming on and performing well instead of sulking about the fact they aren’t starting.”

Molumby and his West Brom teammates will be eager to bounce back from their 1-1 draw with Blackburn on Monday evening, as they head south to take on fellow play-off hopefuls Watford at Vicarage Road.