West Brom talking points: New boy leading the race and will Josh Maja lead the line?

It was the latest in a series of behind closed doors training games - however this one was by far the toughest assignment for Carlos Corberan's side in terms of quality of opposition.

Despite Albion creating a number of openings it was the Spanish side who came out on top thanks to a single second half goal - with the games' main talking point coming in the first half with Jayson Molumby and Samu Costa coming to blows.

With just two pre-season friendlies remaining until the season begins, this latest outing threw up some interesting talking points about how Albion may line-up come August 10.

No 'two XIs'

In Albion's pre-season outings so far, Corberan has opted to put out different line-ups in both the first half and the second half.

However against the La Liga side he decided against that, and went on to make a number of changes rather than introduce a completely different XI.

Given the fact this was one of Albion's tougher games as they faced opposition similar in terms of quality to what they'll be facing in the Championship, there could be an argument that the side who started on Saturday will be quite close to the one that will line-up against QPR on the opening day.

It was probably the strongest 'XI' we have seen in a pre-season friendly so far.

Heggem and Bartley

Much has been made of how Albion will look defensively heading into the new campaign, following the departure of Cedric Kipre.

Both he and Bartley were mainstays at the back throughout last season, and filling Kipre's boots is a big task.

Torbjorn Heggem came in earlier in the summer and has featured heavily in pre-season.

With Heggem being left footed and able to play at full back, it looks as though he is going to be the one to slot in alongside Bartley for the upcoming season.

However, Corberan has options. Semi Ajayi was introduced at half time and with Kipre out of the door, he will certainly be pushing for a start but from what we have seen so far, it looks likely Bartley and Heggem could be the starting pair in a back four.

Swift and Grant chances

This pre-season really is a big one for both John Swift and Karlan Grant.

In the case of Swift, he was very much out of the picture for a large chunk towards the end of last season, coming on as a substitute in games.

However, he has featured heavily in pre-season, has scored a superb goal and from looking at how Albion have set up, he is very much back in Corberan's plans.

In this he played in the centre of a three behind the striker, and heading into the new season it wouldn't be surprising to see him operating in that position.

The injury to Grady Diangana may have helped his situation, given the fact Diangana occupied the ten role at the end of last season.

For Karlan Grant, questions have already been asked about whether he could be heading for another loan or will he be given another chance under Corberan.

From what we have seen in pre-season, there is a strong argument for the latter.

On Saturday he lined up on the left of a three. Despite being a striker for much of his time at Albion, Corberan does see Grant very much as a wide player.

He has had a hand in some of the pre-season goals, has looked sharp and is knocking in the door to be re-introduced back into the fold.

However, if Grant is to break back into the Albion XI, he is going to have to get in ahead of Tom Fellows and you would say, certainly at the start of the campaign, that is unlikely.

Maja over Thomas-Asante

Albion fans are still waiting for Josh Maja to show what he can really do, after an injury hit first season.

Heading into his second season, it is going to be a two way battle between him and Brandon Thomas-Asante for that sole front spot, as it currently stands.

Albion are pushing to bring in extra forward options, and that would then change the picture.

However, with the current situation and judging by Saturday, it could well be Maja who is given the nod.

There will no doubt be a few concerns over his fitness given what happened last season, but with a pre-season under his belt now he will be in a much better shape ahead of the August 10 kick off.

He played the first 45 minutes against Mallorca before being replaced by Thomas-Asante.

It wouldn't be surprising to see Maja in from the off against QPR - however, given those fitness issues from last season, it is possible that up top it could very much be a rotation job early in the campaign, utilising both strikers.