Slowly but surely, steady yet unspectacular improvements are being made to the West Bromwich Albion squad in preparation for their fifth successive season in the Premier League. Last season’s collection of misfits, loanees and ageing has-beens – who spent just as much time on the physio’s table as they did on the pitch – which limped over the line to Premier League safety have been shaken up and filtered out, with just an experienced core left behind. The bad apples have been removed from the bunch and the core is in no imminent danger of rotting. The squad does however still require more flesh adding to what is, in places, an emaciated body.
Moves were made over the weekend to add Belgium and Hannover left back Sebastien Pocognoli to the squad on a 3-year deal, with the option of an extra year in the club’s favour for a sum rumoured to be around the £1.25m mark, whilst Liverpool’s Andre Wisdom has also been linked with a loan move which would solidify the right back position. Aston Villa’s Alan Hutton remains an alternative option at this stage should the local rivals be able to sort out what would be another low-outlay signing. With news that Heracles’ Australian left back Jason Davidson is also still on the transfer radar following initial confusion surrounding his current contract situation, Albion fans should be encouraged that the decision-makers within the recruitment department have moved away from any lingering thoughts regarding playing either Chris Brunt or Craig Gardner as backup options at full back.
Adding Wisdom and possibly Davidson too to the defence would provide valuable depth to the full back positions but it is at centre back where there are more question marks. The addition of Joleon Lescott from Manchester City provided a quality option, but having two left-sided centre backs both on contracts in excess of £40,000 per week might not represent the greatest use of the usual limited resources. Craig Dawson is another question mark after his rejected transfer request and continued interest from Burnley in his native North-West. Personally, considering the fact that 3 of the 5 centre backs in the squad are over 30, with Gareth McAuley the oldest at 35, I’d be reticent to let him move without being fully confident in the ability of Donervorn Daniels to step in if required, though the likelihood is that a cost-effective replacement would be sought in the event of a sale.
Similarly, the situation in midfield with last season’s Derby County loanee George Thorne is another which needs to come to a conclusion. Thorne has seen two transfer requests rejected this summer, whilst Derby have also seen two clearly insufficient transfer bids for the player rejected out of hand. Allowing Thorne to leave would be an extremely poor and short-sighted decision, so long as his presence in the changing room isn’t a divisive one. With Claudio Yacob and Youssouf Mulumbu ahead of him in the positional pecking order, added to the feeling of inclusion from last season’s loan spell, Thorne’s stance is understandable but, equally, so is Albion’s. I feel the player should get his head down during the early stages of pre-season in a concerted effort to force his way into new boss Alan Irvine’s thoughts; a man with a clear fondness for giving youth a chance. Should he do that, his spell at Derby will soon be forgotten. Selling Thorne before being certain of exactly what he can be though would be an extremely foolish move by West Brom.
With the bulk of the defensive holes in the squad having been filled during the opening months of the close-season, focus can begin to shift to the business end of the pitch. A quick glance at the squad list shows that width and additional attacking options are an absolute necessity during the next month, with hope tentatively growing that the required bodies may even be in place for the start of the season. Whilst inexpensive additions have plugged the gaps at the back, it is widely anticipated that more financial muscle will be needed in order to bolster what is currently an incredibly weak attack. The club need to exhibit all of their usual diligence and patience in hunting out the right type of players but equally must be decisive and clinical in negotiations when the right deal is there to be done.
The Albion horizon is looking a lot brighter than it was a couple of weeks back, but the addition of an exciting attacker who can get the fans back on the edge of their seats will throw the curtains wide open and allow the light of optimism to shine once more.
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