Why Darren Moore’s Sheffield Wednesday arrival could be music to Izzy Brown’s ears…
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The next few months are big for Izzy Brown. His contract at Chelsea is expiring and he’s not had the 2020/21 season that he’ll have been hoping to for at Hillsborough – but there’s still time to change that.
Over the weekend, Brown was handed his first Wednesday start since back in September, and played a big role in the first half performance that saw the Owls take a comfortable 2-0 lead into the break.
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Hide AdThings collapsed in the second half, but the 24-year-old showed glimpses of what he’s capable of if let loose, and the sort of threat that he can be. He made two key passes.
With his intelligence, eye for a pass, strength and creative ability, Brown could be exactly the sort of player that the new manager is looking for to play behind the striker. He’s got the attributes required if Moore looks to shift Wednesday into the 4-2-3-1 that he’s become known for.
He’s a similar sort of build to Doncaster Rovers’ Taylor Richards, and you can’t help but feel that Brown would be very suited to taking on that attacking central midfield role behind whoever is asked to lead the line.
Richards, who is on loan at Rovers from Brighton & Hove Albion, has six goals and four assists to his name this season, and is seen as a key part of what has been a largely successful season prior to Moore’s departure.
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Hide AdThe Donny midfielder is averaging 1.6 key passes per 90 minutes for his side this year - and 1.5 of them are short balls trying to open things up…With Brown, he’s averaging 1.8 and 1.6 short, the highest of any other at the club. You can’t help but wonder what he could do with more minutes under his belt.
Given the fact that Moore has known him for years, and worked with him in the youth setup at West Bromwich Albion, he may well be the man to give them to him.
The new Owls boss mentioned Brown by name during his first press conference on Monday, speaking of how he worked with him at youth level, and he will no doubt have been pleased to see a familiar face when he arrived at Middlewood Road – even if it’s been a few years since they last worked together.
It remains to be seen whether the midfield man will get another start at Hillsborough this evening, but he’ll be coming up against another of his former loan clubs and itching to show his new manager that he can live up to the potential that he showed at West Brom all those years ago.
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Hide AdWednesday have 14 games to save their season and secure their Championship status, and there’s absolutely no doubt that a fit and firing Izzy Brown could play a big part in helping them do so.