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Connolly can follow Dan James's example

Graham Potter has already seen clear comparisons between one of his current crop and one of his former players, now plying his trade with tomorrow’s opponents Manchester United.

By Alex Stedman • 09 November 2019

By Paul Hazlewood
Graham Potter embraces young forward Aaron Connolly after the forward's full Albion debut in August.

Aaron Connolly and Daniel James will line up for the respective sides in the north West with growing reputations within the top-flight, and Potter sees a clear correlation between the attributes of the two young forwards. 

He said, “I see similarities in the styles of both Dan and Aaron, both like to run in behind and make defences go back towards their own goal - they both like to attack the space in behind. 

“A lot of young players want to come towards the ball and get it to feet and do something from there, whereas the two of them want to run into space. That’s a dangerous attribute to have, because if you were to ask most defenders what they would prefer, then they’d be likely to say they’re far more comfortable going the other way up the field. 

“Both have the quality to do it often, in fairness to Aaron, he’s younger than Dan, he had a few more years and had a few more experiences in the game before getting his opportunity, but they’re two players who have a very similar playing style.”

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Potter's Man United press conference

James made his league debut at the start of the 2018/19 season following Potter’s arrival in south Wales that summer, and the head coach spoke about the characteristics that he believed have been crucial in helping him so far during his career.

“Dan’s a good story for any young player, he went on loan to Shrewsbury and didn’t play, so he then came back to us at Swansea City in the summer,” he continued. 

“The club had just been relegated out of the Premier League and I was trying to get my head round the players that I had at my disposal. Yeovil wanted him on loan and thankfully we didn’t send him - six months later he was unplayable in the championship with a lot of interest, before moving to Manchester United.

“It goes to show how important resilience is, when you have that as a youngster you always have a chance.”

01:48

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Solskjaer's pre-match press conference

Albion head to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United tomorrow afternoon lying six places and two points above the Red Devils in the Premier League, looking to claim their first points at the ‘Theatre of Dreams’. 

Potter reflected on a match with one of his former clubs as being a good example of how to manage a contest at an established and successful side in a division. 

“At Ostersunds we had some occasions where we went away to face big sides, and you just want to show what you can do on the biggest stage possible, while developing your own game and trying to be yourself.

“Even in the most difficult environments we did that. Galatasaray away in the Europa League is a good example because within the match itself we weren’t able to impose ourselves in an attacking sense and in the way that we wanted to do. 

“You have to adapt depending on how the game goes, in the end their home crowd was too much and the atmosphere was amazing. They drove us back and we had to make sure we had a good defensive organisation to stay in the game and hold onto a result - you have to understand the game can throw something different at you at any time."