West Brom newbie Jay Rodriguez’s dad suggests misconception about striker; makes a guarantee about £12m man

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Jay Rodriguez joined West Bromwich Albion from Southampton for £12 million during this window.

Jay Rodriguez’s father Kiko has suggested that there is a misconception about the forward regarding his injury record, and added that he can guarantee that no-one will be able to question his son’s effort during his time with West Brom, the Express and Star reports.

Rodriguez is certainly the Baggies’ marquee addition of the summer so far, with the Express and Star reporting that he has arrived in a £12 million deal that may ultimately rise to £15 million.

To some, the move may have seemed like quite a gamble given how little Rodriguez was involved during the latter years of his spell with Southampton.

Following the devastating injury he suffered in the months leading up to the 2014 World Cup, he would make just 12 more starts for the Saints in the league, missing the entirety of the 2014/15 campaign. But his father has insisted that any suggestion that he is injury-prone is way off the mark.

“His injury record is false really,” he said, as reported by the Express and Star. “For the last 12 months he’s been injury free, but unfortunately the (Southampton) manager (Claude Puel) didn’t fancy him. But when he did come on, he played well.”

In fairness to Rodriguez, while he did not start often during his final few years on the south coast, he did make 50 appearances in all competitions across his last two seasons – so it would certainly appear that he does deserve to shake off the tag.

And not only is Kiko Rodriguez seemingly willing to guarantee his son’s fitness as much as anyone can, he added that he can also guarantee that the 28-year-old will give everything to make sure that he is a success with the Baggies.

“Of course he can be that man to score the goals,” he added. “But more importantly, the one thing that Jay will give you, is 100 per cent.”

With Rodriguez proving in some style in pre-season that he knows how to find the back of the net, marrying that with a clear desire to give everything to the cause will certainly make him an extremely popular member of the West Brom squad.