Tony Mowbray's smile said it all after West Brom captured 'razor sharp' Adam Armstrong
Tony Mowbray couldn't conceal a smile as he spoke with gusto about West Bromwich Albion's capture of striker Adam Armstrong on a loan basis from Southampton on transfer deadline day. Mowbray and Albion welcome Sheffield Wednesday to The Hawthorns on Saturday (12:30pm KO) and Armstrong is in line to make his debut just days after arriving.
There was a nervous wait on Tuesday morning but, after the EFL ratified the transfer, Armstrong was given the green light to travel north and reunite with Mowbray, for who he'd worked previously and banged in goals for fun at both Coventry City and, more recently, Blackburn Rovers.
Marksman Armstrong has trained with his new teammates, some of who he knows already, and under the watchful eye of the more familiar coaching staff. The 27-year-old has already excited all at the club's training ground with what Mowbray has described as 'razor sharp' finishing - something Albion have most recently been crying out for.
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"He's a talent. He's a great kid. He'll integrate into the dressing room straight away as his one session showed on Thursday. It's a good coup for us. I can't grumble," Mowbray smiled. "It's exciting. I think the players are excited Adam Armstrong is here to be honest. I'd have to say watching him in training he looked ready, sharp, quick, all the stuff we know he can bring.
"I'm looking forward to getting him going. Him realising which players can play the quality pass to slip him in to score. My overriding feeling was 'wow, we've got Adam Armstrong!' Hopefully we won't be thinking about where the goals are going to come from now. My only experience of Adam Armstrong two or three times has been goals - and lots of them, so I'm hoping he brings that to this club.
"My brother is head of recruitment at Southampton, he phoned me in the afternoon telling me all the clubs in for Adam, my perception was we couldn't do Adam Armstrong. For whatever reason he became available. It was as late as that, it wasn't something we chased for a week or two, it fell on our doorstep really and I have to thank the club."
While Albion will have to be comparably patient with new signing Tammer Bany, who only landed at the club's training ground on Friday and who spoke with Mowbray for the first time, Armstrong is raring to hit the ground running having played regularly for relegation near certainties Southampton this season.
"The Saturday before last he started and he said to me he's ready to get going. He looked razor-sharp in training yesterday," Mowbray added. "You get a lift with a new environment, but he's comfortable because he knows the gaffer, he knows Veno, he knows a few of the lads, they've treated him like a long lost pal. They've all seen what Adam Armstrong's done in the Championship over the last few years. All the lads are happy he's here.
"In my mind he's blisteringly fast off the mark. It's not that it takes him a few seconds to get to sprint speed, he's at full sprint speed straight away and it catches defenders out with him diving in behind."
