Roberto Di Matteo today claimed new Albion star Gonzalo Jara can still get better despite his eye-catching start to life in the Championship.
The Baggies boss believes the Chile international, who struck his first English goal on Saturday, can still improve as he settles in at The Hawthorns.
But Di Matteo admitted he has been pleasantly surprised by the utility man’s rapid rise to prominence since his £1.4 switch from Colo Colo less than three months ago.
“We followed him and watched him and we knew he was a good player,” said Di Matteo. “But I think the fact that he has just come into the team and hasn’t needed too much time to adapt to the English football and the change of country and language speaks volumes for him. We hope with time he will get even better.”
Jara rifled home his first Baggies goal on Saturday in the 2-1 win at Leicester during a man-of-the-match display at the heart of midfield. But he has also impressed at right-back, left-back and centre-back in his brief Hawthorns career as well as playing one game as a right-sided midfielder.
And Di Matteo believes Jara is already showing he could operate in the Premier League. The Italian said: “Can he play higher up? Absolutely – also going with Chile to the World Cup.”
See Also:
18 Comments
Dare i say it, with a goal like that,could Jara be a similar player to The Bomber,scoring from the midfield?.Who know’s?,we will have to wait and see if he can do it regularly.
Report abuse
Very good away win but if we were to get promoted with this current squad it would be painful we are alot weaker than last season. Mr Peace we will need 30mil to even stand a chance of 17th. If we make it that is. Lets all keep the faith.
Report abuse
No.2 DingDongDingle. Go away and lick your wounds somewhere else. Arsenal are different class from the Wulfies. You know that, we know that and we can’t be bothered gloating. Learn from it, then scribble on someone else’s walls.
Jara will, along with Dorrans and a few others, ALL be ‘the find of the season’. There is a new, hard professionalism creeping into our play, the goals are spread around, games are won away regularly, mistakes are fewer. Two things to concentrate on in my view. 1. How to keep players happy who can’t get in and were once regulars. 2.Where can we get, or re-discover a 20 goal man? Don’t suggest KP please, I’m talking about now and NEXT season.
Report abuse
3. We have no place to gloat we have lost at home to Swansea and Crystal Palace aswell as away to Barnsley. Lets not get cocky because we have been a newly promoted side. Still alongway to go and alot of fans were asking for Roberto to be pushed out a few weeks back.
Report abuse
No.3 Cyril, Youre being a little unfair on our dingle friends aren’t you mate, to be fair i don’t remember us netting 3 times against the Gunners! ;-)
Report abuse
Jara is just quality and full marks for the scouting system.Dont expect consistency from Dorrans and Mulombo as they havent played many matches in their career let alone for us but good players the pair of them.
3,Cyril- A twenty goal man for the premier?
It would cost us 20 million plus wages and I think that rules us out(Jeremy would have an heart attack)
Twenty goal man in the champioship – Leon Best and lets send Luke Moore to Coventry !!!!
Report abuse
Jodie dazzles me,aye boing boing xxx
Report abuse
Jara and dorrans were a class act on saturday. i think moores improving needs to play as a pair upfront was infective when cox went off and they linked well with together at times he should have bagged 2 on saturday tho! i think the best is still to come from both of them!
Report abuse
I’ll tell you what, you know you’re going places when someone tries to imitate you!! Shadrag’s up to his usual trick me thinks, he tried it at number to and someone sussed him. Not very bright are we!
Report abuse
number 2 even lol!!
Report abuse
dont forget to listen out on saturday for the brazilian fans singing ITS JUST LIKE WATCHING WEST BROM ITS JUST LIKE WATCHING WEST BROM,aye boing boing
Report abuse
remember the dingles mocking us last season cuz we took a few seats out the halfords lane,well they got to tek 600 hundred out cuz they cant sell um even with the take a friend and we`ll give you 40 quid offer,aye boing boing
Report abuse
9 Salop.
He’s been using your name on here for a while now, his posts are so obvious that everyone knows it’s him. Don’t get too excited about going places though, it’s a bit like Andy Warhol’s ‘everyone will be famous for 15 minutes,’ if you post on here, Shadrag will eventually impersonate you.
12 Sir Terry.
Well spotted. Funny how we reduced our capacity because we couldn’t fill the ground but they’re doing it for safety reasons LOL. Let’s see if they’re filling the ground when they’re bottom at the end of the season like we did. Although they might be down to about a 5,000 capacity then (for safety reasons of course.) Get those banners ready.
Carling don’t make football fans but if they did they’d probably be Baggies fans.
Report abuse
General Comments: 1.Sir Terry, you are fickle where women are concerned. I suppose you can be when you have so many at your feet. 2.Shadrag’s never imitated me yet. Is it because I ain’t worth the trouble or because he can’t spell?
3. No5 that was cruel but I nearly peed my nappy laughing.
4. Santa. Jara the Chilean Brown Bomber? Drool, drool.
5. There still ain’t nothing to beat a Baggies-Wulfies Black Country derby. I’ve seen a million of them and it’s electric!
Report abuse
12 – Where’s that story Tezza?
I must’ve blinked and missed that one, or are our friends not talking about it in their beloved E&D???
Report abuse
15, hi Ned,on there E&D site 5th story down aye boing boing
Report abuse
16 – Brilliant!!
Cheers Tez, it made for a fantastic read.
I wonder who Shadrag is masquerading as today, so he can show it’s that his club is the biggest and best in the world???
Report abuse
Ned, Shadrag’s off to The Caribbean on holiday. He read that the big banks have made yet another fortune so now he’s pretending to be boss of Barclays!
Report abuse