West Brom captain Jonathan Greening believes Jay Simpson can inject some added impetus into Albion's survival hopes in the same way Kieran Richardson did during the 'Great Escape'.

The Baggies skipper was impressed by the on-loan Arsenal striker on his Premier League debut in Saturday 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa.

And although Greening believes Simpson has the sort of spark that made Richardson so valuable to their successful relegation fight when he joined the Baggies on loan from Manchester United four seasons ago.

"Jay was very positive, good on the ball and he attacks players," he said.

"He did very well for a 20-year-old.

"The more times he plays the better he'll get.

"He's got a little bit of skill, a lot of pace and hopefully he'll get a goal early doors and will go on and be a good player for us.

"There's a spark and something different about him.

"Kieran came in at the right time and was exceptional for us.

"He was probably one of the main reasons we stayed up that year.

"If he can have an affect like that then great.

"He's a nice lad off the pitch and is fitting in nicely.

"He's doing well in training as well."