Callum Styles Takes on Leadership Role at West Bromwich Albion

Callum Styles is stepping into a new role at West Bromwich Albion – and it’s not just at left-back.

A summer of change at The Hawthorns has stripped out a chunk of the club’s experience and flooded the dressing room with youth. Seven new signings arrived aged 23 or under. At the same time, three players over 30 moved on, joined by Karlan Grant and Kristian Bielik, both 28, and 27-year-old Josh Maja.

In that reshaped squad, 26-year-old Styles suddenly finds himself among the senior figures.

“I think that's natural [to step into leadership] when you've played a lot of games in the Championship and you're getting older season by season,” he told BBC Radio WM.

The shift is clear. Last season, he was one of many. This season, he’s one of the reference points.

“Quite a few of us that were here last year feel like it's our role to then get the new lads adjusted to the league, to the team and to the physicality as quickly as possible,” he said.

That responsibility, as he sees it, isn’t about shouting the loudest. It’s about example.

“We've got to show that through us working hard ourselves and then obviously helping them off the pitch.”

For a club banking on younger legs, voices like Styles’ will shape how quickly West Brom’s new era finds its feet.