Callum Styles Steps Up as Leader at West Bromwich Albion

Callum Styles is only 26, but at West Bromwich Albion this season he suddenly feels like one of the grown-ups.

A summer of change at The Hawthorns has stripped away a chunk of the squad’s experience. Three players over 30 have gone. So too have Karlan Grant and Kristian Bielik, both 28, and 27-year-old Josh Maja. In their place? Seven new signings aged 23 or under, all trying to find their feet in a demanding Championship campaign.

In that landscape, a 26-year-old left-back with plenty of second-tier miles on the clock starts to look like a senior figure.

“I think that's natural [to step into leadership] when you've played a lot of games in the Championship and you're getting older season by season,” Styles told BBC Radio WM, outlining how his role has shifted as the dressing room has grown younger around him.

He isn’t alone in feeling that responsibility, but he’s clear about what it involves.

“Quite a few of us that were here last year feel like it's our role to then get the new lads adjusted to the league, to the team and to the physicality as quickly as possible,” he said.

That means more than a few encouraging words on a matchday. It means standards, example, and presence.

“We've got to show that through us working hard ourselves and then obviously helping them off the pitch.”

West Brom wanted youth. They’ve got it. Now they’ll lean on players like Styles to make sure that energy is guided, not wasted.