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West Bromwich Albion: Micah Richards reserves high praise for defender Kyle Bartley

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Image for West Bromwich Albion: Micah Richards reserves high praise for defender Kyle Bartley

Former Premier League defender Micah Richards has offered major praise for West Bromwich Albion defender Kyle Bartley.

The 29-year-old centre-back, who is valued at £2.52 million (as per Transfermarkt), scored the only goal of the game as the Baggies beat fellow strugglers Brighton and Hove Albion in a tight encounter at the Hawthorns, but it wasn’t just up front that he was effective. He also won two aerial duels, made four clearances and made two interceptions earning himself an 8.1 rating on WhoScored and picking up man of the match honours in the process.

And speaking on Match Of The Day (32:58), Richards pointed out just how important he was for Sam Allardyce’s team, not just through his actions, but also the emotional side of his game:

“He stepped up… he has been on the back of some terrible results this season, but he shows his desire and passion. Fair play to him, he’s focused, it’s going to be difficult for them.”

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TIF Thoughts on Micah Richards comments about Kyle Bartley

He has certainly been one of the few bright spots when it comes to West Bromwich Albion’s season, indeed he’s their joint second-highest goalscorer with his three goals this campaign.

Richards is certainly right to point to someone like Bartley to act as the leader for this team. As an experienced centre-back, he is someone that the club need to rely on if they are going to get out of this situation, even if it does look like it’s going to be rather difficult at this stage of the season.

But on top of that, even if things do go wrong for them this season, given his vast Championship experience, including being part of their promotion team last season, you’d also back him to be one of the key men to build things around for their next campaign.

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Freelance sports journalist & broadcaster.