‘He might go abroad somewhere’ – Exclusive: Phillips says West Brom defender may leave
We’re delighted to welcome former West Brom striker Kevin Phillips as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at The Hawthorns…
Kevin Phillips has claimed that although he would be “daft” to do it, he could see Ahmed Hegazi potentially leaving The Hawthorns ahead of next season.
As it stands, no one is sure about when the next transfer window will open with the current 2019/20 campaign on pause due to the coronavirus outbreak.
However, Hegazi, 29, is a player who was linked with a move away from the Black Country in the January transfer window and was involved in a training ground incident back in December [Birmingham Mail].
Sky Sports reported that Saudi Arabian side Al-Ittihad had a £3.4million bid rejected by Albion for the Egyptian defender, who has barely featured in Slaven Bilic’s starting line-up all season.
Although Phillips expects Hegazi to want to play in the Premier League, he admits there’s always the possibility that the defender could quit English football.
When asked by West Brom News if he can see Hegazi moving on in the summer, Phillips said: “If they go up, I don’t know. He might possibly look to move on but then where does he go? He might go abroad somewhere.
“But he seems quite happy at West Brom. He seems settled there. He knows the club, he knows the players and he’s a reliable player, he’s shown that.
“But if they go up then he’d be daft to move on. He’ll want to play in the Premier League.
“As much as he’s done well for West Brom, do you really see a Premier League side paying for him? I’m not so sure so West Brom might be his only option in terms of the Premier League.”
Hegazi has made 12 appearances in all competitions for West Brom this season and only eight of them have been starts in the Championship.
The defender underwent surgery on an ankle injury in the summer and was unable to return to the Baggies side until October.
However by then, Kyle Bartley had asserted himself in Bilic’s starting line-up alongside Semi Ajayi in the centre-back position.
Hegazi’s found game-time hard to come by since then and before the coronavirus-enforced suspension of the Championship, he once again picked up an injury and was ruled out of the reckoning for Bilic.
Hegazi’s future is one to perhaps keep tabs on over the coming weeks and months.
In other West Brom news, Charlie Austin’s situation has been clarified.