West Brom captain lauds Isaac Price work rate after 'beanpole' jibe at top scorer
Albion captain Jed Wallace claimed top scorer Isaac Price is the fittest player he has ever worked with after the latter's goalscoring form continued.
Price, 21, bagged a double, including the first header of his career, in the 3-2 victory at Wrexham on Saturday to make it two Championship wins from two this season.
And experienced skipper Wallace played a defining role from the bench to put his side ahead at 2-1 just 28 seconds after being introduced as a substitute by boss Ryan Mason.
Northern Ireland international and former Everton youngster Price has been the Baggies' star turn so far this season and Wallace said the attacking midfielder's productivity in front of goal is a result of hard work. Wallace, who scored for the first time since January, then made a joke about Price's tall frame after his colleague's late header.
"He's doing well," Wallace told ITV of Price. "He's probably the fittest player I've ever played with and that's going to help him with getting in the box.
"There's not a lot on him but he's tall. I've been giving him stick all week - that's the first header he's ever scored. He's a big beanpole but it's the first time he's ever scored a header.
"But his attitude is amazing and he's really fitted in since he came over in January. He's massively popular in the dressing room and he's getting what he deserves because he works really hard every day."
Albion's win - a first away since last November - was inspired by another substitute, Mikey Johnston, who emerged from the bench with a pair of assists for the crucial second and third goals.
Wallace added: "Our away form was terrible last year, it's something we really want to improve and I think a lot of teams will struggle here this year. So it's a good start, only a start with 44 games to go."
Price netted a cool winner in the 1-0 success over Blackburn on the opening day at The Hawthorns and came up trumps again with another composed finish and header in north Wales.
"They are both different goals but the second is what I've been trying to work on a bit more, the timing to arrive in between the defenders," Price said. "Headers is something I should get more goals with, I'm six foot two or three and I should be scoring more headers!"
