Nathaniel Chalobah described the opportunity to further his football “education” under the guidance of Carlos Corberán as one which was far too good to turn down.
The 28-year-old midfielder penned an 18-month contract at The Hawthorns on January transfer deadline day, leaving Premier League Fulham to link-up with Corberán’s side.
Chalobah has made a total of 234 career club appearances, featuring in a number of competitions both here in England and abroad while on loan at Serie A giants Napoli in 2015/16.
But despite already having an eye-catching CV, one which includes almost a century of matches for England all the way up from U16 level to the senior side, Nathaniel insists he’s someone who’ll always be keen to learn more about the beautiful game, and says he views the Baggies boss as a perfect tutor.
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Chalobah said: “I’m really happy to be here.
“I heard about the club’s interest in me a little while ago so I’m glad to finally get the deal done.
“Ever since I heard about the interest in me I obviously started following the club’s results a lot more. I’ve been watching plenty of the games recently and from what I’ve seen, it’s been pretty good.
“I’ve spoken with the manager and I’ve seen plenty of his work. I played against his Huddersfield side last year and they were a very good side. I know what he’s about and how he likes his teams to play.
“After I had that first conversation with him my mind was made up pretty quickly about coming here.
“The most important thing as a player is having that mentality of a blank canvas for whoever you are working with. I think that’s kind of something that drew me to this manager.
“I think I can still grow and improve my football education as a player under him, regardless of my age or however many games I have played. That was something that really drew me here.
“His intensity and his passion is something that came across straight away in the conversation I had with him and I’m really excited to work with him.”
The new man arrives at a club which has risen from bottom of the division up to just a couple of places outside the top six since the Spaniard took over.
Chalobah has helped his two previous clubs win promotion to the Premier League, achieving the target with Watford in 2020/21 and Fulham in 2021/22.
The midfielder says he sees plenty of potential in the current crop of players at The Hawthorns and has urged the Baggies to maintain the positive momentum they have built under Corberán.
“I definitely see so much potential in this team. I see that there’s a talented group of players here and I just want to play a part in everything.”
“Every week in the Championship is a completely different week. I don’t mean to sound cliché, but what you face one week is not what you’re going to face the next.
“You need a lot of hard work in this division and you need everyone pulling in the same direction. You also need momentum. That’s so important. It’s probably the biggest thing I’ve learnt from playing in the Championship.
“I was fortunate enough to win promotion with Watford and then Fulham and momentum was key. Once you’ve got that going, it’s important to keep it because it can help drive you over the line.”
