Hurzeler: Gomez pushing hard to start

Main Club Sponsor

TICKETS

SHOP

Charlie Hanson

2025-02-25T05:00+00:00

Diego Gomez played for Libertad and Inter Miami before joining Albion in January. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

Fabian Hurzeler has been impressed with the impact Diego Gomez has made off the bench in recent weeks and believes the Paraguay international is ready to start his first Premier League game.

The midfielder – who joined us from Inter Miami in January – has made four substitute league appearances for Albion.

“He is pushing hard [to start],” Hurzeler said ahead of tonight's game against Bournemouth at the Amex. “Every time when he has come into the game he had an impact.

“He influenced the game by his profile and therefore we are happy to have him in the squad.”

Diego has made five appearances in all competitions for Albion. 📷 by James Boardman.

Competing for a place in midfield is Carlos Baleba, who was sent off in our 2-1 win over Bournemouth back in November.

Our German head coach is confident that the Cameroon international has learned from that day.

“A lot of times when he has had a yellow card [since Bournemouth] I have seen a development, I saw a learning in his behaviour afterwards.

“He behaved much more maturely, he behaved much more professionally after his first yellow card and he understands how to behave and how to play if he already has a yellow card.

Carlos Baleba has made 63 appearances for Albion. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

“So I see a really good improvement in these things.

“On top of that he's an unbelievable player for us. He has skills no one else in this team has. He's very athletic, not only in possession. He is also dynamic out of possession, he's very important to close the gaps.”

Hurzeler though still sees a lot of room for improvement in the 21-year-old.

Georginio celebrates Albion's win over Chelsea alongside Carlos Baleba. 📷 by Paul Hazlewood.

“It's now so important for him to stay grounded, because there's still so many things he can improve, so many things where he hasn’t reach his limit yet.

“When we just focus on the physical data, he's still not running enough for a number six. Of course he does a lot of high speed metres, but I think in general he can cover more distance so we try to work hard on these things with him.

“Then I'm sure that he will improve and improve. He will be a very, very important player for us.”