Express & Star

West Brom's Jed Wallace: I’ll play my best from West Midlands home

New recruit Jed Wallace believes moving to the West Midlands will help him play his best football for Albion.

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Jed Wallace of West Bromwich Albion during the Pre-Season Friendly between West Bromwich Albion and Hertha Berlin at The Hawthorns on July 23, 2022 in West Bromwich, England. (Photo by Malcolm Couzens - WBA/West Bromwich Albion FC via Getty Images).

Baggies boss Steve Bruce wants all his players to live within an hour of the club’s Walsall training base.

Last season, though, eight players faced a commute of more than an hour to get to work with some travelling from as far a field as Brighton and North Yorkshire.

Bruce is understood to have demanded all new recruits move to the area.

And ahead of the season opener against Middlesbrough, Wallace revealed his family moved up on Wednesday.

“My two little boys and my Mrs moved up yesterday (Wednesday),” Wallace said.

“My dog is coming up next.

“So you might see me walking around the woods chasing a pair of toddlers around in Dorridge or somewhere.

“I’m looking forward to getting to the area and the season getting under way.

“I think it’s important you commit to the area.

“It might not help if I’m at a soft-play after training!

“But I do think you’ve got to commit to the area.

“I’ve got a young family so I have been looking forward to them coming up and them watching me play at the stadium.

“We’re all excited for the season ahead.

“We’ve got a lot of talented players here and we’re hungry to be successful this season.”

Wallace has featured in all of Albion’s pre-season games.

But he is looking forward to make his competitive debut at the Riverside Stadium tomorrow.

“I’ve been waiting for five or six weeks now to pull the shirt on properly for the first time,” he continued.

“We’re all looking forward to the real stuff.

“It will be a tough game. Middlesbrough are a strong side, they have got an excellent manager in Chris Wilder and the Riverside will be bouncing.

“But I fancy us to win. We go there confident of getting a good result.”