Whitney Has a Selection Headache as Bakayoko Stakes His Claim

As the majority of Walsall's first-team squad enjoy a rare international break, manager Jon Whitney has spoken to the local press and praised striker Amadou Bakayoko, who strengthened his claim for a starting role by bagging a hat-trick against Grimsby Town in the EFL Trophy.

As the majority of Walsall's first-team squad enjoy a rare international break, manager Jon Whitney has spoken to the local press and praised striker Amadou Bakayoko, who strengthened his claim for a starting role by bagging a hat-trick against Grimsby Town in the EFL Trophy.

Speaking via the Express & Star, Jon said; "I’m absolutely delighted with Ama and the work ethic he has shown. Grimsby was his big chance. I wanted to start him and I wanted to play him on his own to see how he would do by himself. But he couldn’t have done any more than scoring a hat-trick. He was excellent.

"I’m really pleased for him, he has carried on the form he showed in pre-season where he came into the team and did really well. I’ve got a selection headache but I have a little bit of time to think about it with there being no game this weekend so that’s nice."

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This post was first published at 3:00 pm on Friday, 02 September 2016.