Callum Styles to midfield? Ryan Mason's view on role of versatile West Brom left-back
Ryan Mason has explained how versatile regular Callum Styles can continue to play a central role for Albion.
It is roughly a year since Styles made himself a familiar figure in the Baggies' starting ranks and has done so under Carlos Corberan, Tony Mowbray and Mason - almost exclusively at left-back, a relatively unfamiliar position.
The 25-year-old, a 2024 recruit from Barnsley, benefited from an early injury to former loanee Paddy McNair against Cardiff on October 26 last year and has hardly looked back.
Left-back is some way removed from the central midfield role he mostly played at the Tykes - and still operates in on international duty with Hungary.
He has not started in the position for his club, though head coach Mason detailed how his role at left-back for Albion sees Styles given the licence to shift into central position a lot of the time.
"Obviously he plays midfield for his national team and I think if you watch our games probably 50 per cent of the time he's actually inside of the pitch," Mason said.
"That depends on what different phase we're in and different area of the pitch we're playing from - but he has a lot of time in there for us.