West Brom: Abdoulaye Meite tipped to cement first-team place by Gianni Zuiverloon

Oct 5 2009 by Christopher Lepkowski, Birmingham Mail

ABDOULAYE Meite has been tipped to cement a regular first-team place at Albion by team-mate Gianni Zuiverloon.

The Ivory Coast centre-half started his first game for six months in Saturday’s goalless draw at Preston, having slipped down Roberto Di Matteo’s pecking order following his arrival as Albion boss.

But Shelton Martis’ poor form reopened the door for Meite and Zuiverloon reckons he can make an impact.

“I thought he did very well on Saturday,’’ said right-back Zuiverloon.

“You can tell by our clean sheet that he did well.

“He won some important headers, he was strong and it was like he hadn’t been out of the team.

“He can be a very important player for us.

“He’s a good player and we could use him more this year. He’s strong, big, he’s aggressive and can be a good player for us.

“But so can Shelton and Leon Barnett, so we have alternatives.”

Gonzalo Jara was one of Albion’s better performers at Deepdale, playing in the centre of midfield.

He has played four different roles for Albion in as many games, including left-back, right-back and the right-side of midfield.

Zuiverloon claims that versatility is keeping Albion’s regulars on their toes.

“Since he came in he’s played everywhere,” joked Zuiverloon.

“He may go up front and play as a striker next game.

“That’s good for us, it keeps us on our toes because, as we saw on Saturday, he’s a really good player.

“He played an important role for us. There’s a lot more to come.”