Tim Sherwood surprised Tottenham let 'fantastic' Nacer Chadli leave for West Brom
Sunday 18 September 2016 19:49, UK
Tim Sherwood thinks Nacer Chadli could be the difference for West Brom this season and told Ben Shephard and Chris Kamara on Goals on Sunday that he was "surprised that Tottenham let him go".
Chadli's man-of-the-match display in West Brom's 4-2 win over West Ham certainly caught the eye of Sherwood, who was impressed with the Belgian during his time in charge at White Hart Lane.
"Nacer Chadli is a fantastic signing, Tony Pulis has done brilliantly to get him to the football club," Sherwood said. "I think he's a great signing for them, he gives them a little bit of guile.
"I had him at Tottenham, Nacer - he affects the football match, he can assist and he can score and I was very surprised that Tottenham let him go to be perfectly honest.
Chadli scored 15 goals in his Tottenham career, including 11 in the 2014/15 season, and Sherwood believes that his attacking contribution could keep the Baggies out of relegation trouble.
"He will get 10-plus goals for West Brom," Sherwood added. "They could be crucial for keeping them in the division."
Chadli's first of the game came from the spot and, even though he not a regular penalty taker, Sherwood was convinced that the midfielder would score.
"He was never missing [the penalty], never in a million years was he missing it. I think it's the first penalty he's ever taken, certainly in England, he never took them at Tottenham, but this is going to add to his tally."
And Chadli's contribution continued when his shot from the edge of the area was turned home by James McClean to make it 3-0.
"Look at Chadli's touch [for West Brom's third]. You take this for granted, but his first touch to open it up on his left side - instant, he's not even thinking about it, just controls it, boom, into his path and smashes it."
The Belgium international then bagged his second of the game after running the length of the pitch to give Salomon Rondon an option on the counter-attack and tapping in the striker's square ball from close-range.
"Chadli bust a gut to get there to score [West Brom's fourth]," Sherwood said. "It was desire, desire to get there, to want to score for his team and almost put it to bed."
