Mitoma makes history but wants more

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Japanese winger eyeing productive end to the season as Albion chase European football.

Bruce Talbot

2023-04-07T14:00:00Z

Kaoru Mitoma has been directly involved in 12 Premier League goals so far this season (seven goals, five assists).

Kaoru Mitoma is eyeing up more goals and assists after making Albion history on Tuesday.

The Japan winger became the first player in our Premier League history to have goal involvements in five consecutive games when he laid on Evan Ferguson’s cheeky effort in the 2-0 win over Bournemouth.

He now has seven goals and five assists in his first season in the Premier League, with 11 more games to try and better his record, starting against Tottenham Hotspur in north London on Saturday.

“It’s going well. I didn’t expect such results but it’s a positive thing and I hope I can pile up both goals and assists more and more,” said the 25-year-old.

“[The goal] was really thanks to Evan’s quality. I saw him and sent the pass. I expected the ball would reach him but it seemed difficult to make a shot in that situation. I didn’t really expect that would go in, but his quality made it happen. I was just lucky to get an assist, it feels like a bonus.

“Am I in good form? I don’t know, but it’s going well, and I think it’s important to keep giving my contribution.”

Next up for Albion is a trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium where a repeat of last year’s 1-0 win, secured in stoppage time by Leandro Trossard’s goal, would cut the gap to Spurs to a point with Albion having two games in hand.

“Those three points on Tuesday were really important, because Tottenham failed to win [against Everton on Monday],” added Mitoma. “We were not allowed to fail in a match against a lower-ranked team and it was good that we duly won.

“Naturally we are aiming for Europe, but there are still more than ten matches to play. The situation could change anytime, and it will be harder from now. But it will be huge if we can beat a direct rival. So, we would like to try to win the match.

“We are not talking about such things as the Champions League. We are facing the matches one by one.”