"It wouldn’t surprise me" - West Brom termination for Aston Villa player mooted as January looms | OneFootball

Lewis Dobbin has struggled to make an impact at the Hawthorns so far

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Young forward Lewis Dobbin has struggled to make an impact in the Championship since his summer loan move from Aston Villa to West Brom.

The 21-year-old joined the Baggies in a season-long switch in August, just weeks after he made a permanent move from Everton to the Villans for around £10 million, yet has not been able to nail down a starting berth in Carlos Corberan's side as yet.

West Brom are currently sitting seventh in the Championship, just two points off Watford in sixth, and so are well in the race for a play-off spot, but Corberan's men have struggled to score goals this season, and Dobbin has not helped as much as he was expected to in the attacking department, which may well lead to him being recalled by Villa boss Unai Emery in the new year.

Lewis Dobbin recall claim made by West Brom fan pundit

Albion have stagnated in recent months under Corberan, and have scored the least goals of any top-half team in the second-tier this season, with 19 strikes, with heavy reliance on Josh Maja's impressive goal-scoring form so far.

The versatile forward has mostly been kept out of the starting eleven by the likes of Karlan Grant and Mikey Johnston so far, yet was handed a surprise start against Preston North End last time out, his first in the league since he joined the club, but was unable to contribute his first goal or assist this season in a 1-1 draw at Deepdale.

Our Albion fan pundit, Callum Burgess, thinks that Villa may look to recall him in January to loan him back out to a lower-placed side, after we asked him if Dobbin is good enough to be getting minutes ahead of Corberan's other attackers right now, and if his loan could potentially be terminated to free up another loan spot in the new year.

"I do feel a bit sorry for Lewis Dobbin, as whenever he does come on the pitch, you can’t criticise him for a lack of effort, or not trying," Callum told FLW.

"I think it is unfortunate for him, because ultimately there has been a lack of quality in his showings so far.

"Perhaps Aston Villa could have chosen a better team to loan him to. Not a better team as in higher in quality, but someone he would have been more suited to and had a better chance of getting consistent minutes with.

"They could have seen what happened with his development then, rather than him coming to us, being a bit-part player, and ultimately struggling whenever he does get on the pitch.

"It wouldn’t surprise me if his loan does get terminated in January, and Albion do look elsewhere to bring another attacker in.

"It’s a high priority to get someone in who is going to be able to come off the bench, or even start, and make a bigger difference in the second-half of the season.

"I do feel a bit sorry for him. He’s not good enough for us at the moment, and I think Villa should be looking for a loan towards the bottom-end of the Championship, or in League One, in the future for him."

Carlos Corberan could be deciding factor in Dobbin situation

The Baggies have struggled for attacking threat this season, and while they are now unbeaten in over two months, questions are rightly being asked about Carlos Corberan's style of play in the final third, and whether he can fix their problems in front of goal.

He threw a curveball by starting Dobbin against Preston on the weekend, and it is understandable that he wanted to try something new, especially given that the 21-year-old's only other appearance in the starting eleven this season had been in the EFL Cup at Fleetwood Town back in August.

Whether the Stoke-born attacker did enough to prove to his boss that he is worthy of more starts ahead of the busy winter schedule remains to be seen, but Corberan was complimentary of his talents in the aftermath of the Deepdale draw.

"I played with Dobbin because I had considered that he is a player where man-to-man you need to have players that can attack while receiving balls with someone strong in their back," he told the Express & Star.

"He helped the team attack well in the first half - I like the first half he did."

That nod to Dobbin's differing qualities to the likes of Johnston and Callum Styles could hold the key for his Albion future going forward, as Corberan clearly saw something in him to hand him a chance from the off, and may want to keep the Villa loan man as an option for the whole season, rather than let him leave in January.