Ex-Portsmouth and Millwall favourite Jed Wallace hailed following selfless act for latest West Brom game

West Brom manager Carlos Corberan praised his captain after he recommended he drop to the bench for the Baggies’ match against Millwall on Saturday.

The 29-year-old former Fratton favourite volunteered to be among the substitutes as his boss looked to change tactics for game at the Hawthorns.

Coberan wanted to promote both Jeremy Sarmiento and Grady Diangana to his starting line-up, which meant either Wallace or Brandon Thomas-Asante dropping out of the team.

It was proving a difficult call. Yet the one-time Blues youngster stepped in and nominated himself to be dropped.

And it was a selfless act that filled Corberan with pride.

He told the Express & Star: ‘Jed Wallace this week has showed me and to our team why he is our captain.

‘When I was preparing the game on Friday, I thought it was important to have Sarmiento and Diangana in the first XI – trying to play the game that they wanted to do, to be aggressive with the playmakers.

‘I was talking with Wallace and Asante to explain that one would play as a number nine, and one would start on the bench.

‘I wanted to explain to them that because both are very important players to me and to the team, and I respect them a lot.

‘Wallace said to me that Asante should play, even though he was fully determined to play against Millwall. He thought that the best way for the team was to use our number nine.

‘Wallace doesn’t like to miss any minutes, but he has a lot of value in this club and with his team behind this answer. He is someone who was thinking of the team before himself – it’s as simple as that.

‘I am proud and pleased to have him as the captain of my team.’

Coberan’s changes didn’t have the impact he had hoped for as the West Brom v Millwall game ended goalless, leaving the hosts 13th in the Championship table.

Wallace – who has made eight appearances for the Baggies this season, scoring once and recording one assist – came on as a 77th-minute substitute but was unable to help break the deadlock against his former Lions team-mates.

The forward is into his second season at the Hawthorns, following his free transfer move from Millwall in the summer of 2022. Last season he scored six goals in 46 outings and registered eight assists.

Wallace scored 30 goals in 121 games for Pompey, before moving to Wolves in 2015 for a fee believed to be around £250,000.