View: Why big-name West Brom player could struggle to get into Bilic XI this season
Kieran Gibbs is arguably one of the best-known players at West Brom.
The 30-year-old has won 10 caps for England and made 229 total appearances for Arsenal, where he also lifted the FA Cup on two occasions.
West Brom fans were impressed when Tony Pulis managed to land the left-back from the Gunners for just £7million in 2017 and although his first season at The Hawthorns was marked with relegation to the Championship, he has still been one of the most consistent and relied upon players in the Albion squad.
In the summer, it was a bit of a surprise that no one came calling for Gibbs as he had been an ever-present during Darren Moore and Jimmy Shan’s spells in the hotseat, appearing 38 times across all competitions, scoring four goals and supplying four assists in the process.
However he has barely featured for Slaven Bilic this season with the ex-Arsenal left-back not playing a game since August.
Gibbs has had his injury issues and the latest update Bilic provided on the 30-year-old was that he had suffered a broken toe in training last month [Express & Star].
But if Gibbs was fit right now, would he even be in the West Brom starting line-up?
Nathan Ferguson, despite being usually seen as a centre-back or right-back, had made the left-back spot his own in the wake of Gibbs’ injury but the teenager’s recent suspension has led to Conor Townsend stepping up.
Townsend, 26, has started the last two matches at left-back and both have resulted in West Brom winning and keeping a clean sheet.
The former Scunthorpe ace has caused defences to struggle thanks to his marauding runs down the left flank and his cross to assist Matheus Pereira in the 2-2 draw with Barnsley was a thing of beauty.
Townsend has also shown a solid defensive side to the game which is something that Gibbs has struggled with during his time at The Hawthorns.
West Brom are on a real high at the moment.
They are top of the table and have lost just once in the league all season so changing around the starting line-up is hardly something that Bilic should be considering.
Ahmed Hegazi has returned to fitness but is yet to start due to the terrific form of Kyle Bartley and Semi Ajayi at centre-back.
Gibbs is likely to find himself in the same position as Hegazi once he has recovered from his broken toe because the Baggies have been doing just fine without him.
In other West Brom news, Darren Bent has warned Albion about this summer signing.