Exclusive: Phillips suggests West Brom could release 22y/o if they win promotion
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 suggested that West Brom could release Kyle Edwards in the summer if they manage to win promotion to the Premier League.
Edwards’ deal at The Hawthorns expires at the end of June but, according to the Birmingham Mail, the Baggies have the option to extend it by a further 12 months.
The 22-year-old has been a regular for Slaven Bilic this season, appearing 28 times across all competitions and scoring two goals in the process.
Edwards has proven to be an important member of the squad at times but ex-West Brom striker Phillips does not see the Dudley-born attacker having much of an impact in the Premier League.
He claims that if Albion miss out on promotion then it may be worth keeping Edwards around but if they go up, he isn’t convinced the club will want to keep the forward.
“It’s a hard one because at the minute we’re second-guessing whether they go up or don’t go up,” Phillips told West Brom News when asked if Edwards’ contract extension should be triggered. “It’s always a difficult one to discuss really and only the manager can make that decision and the player.
“As I’ve said before, if they were to go up, it might be worth doing it because these are the players who got them there. Or, they might look at an option where they don’t take up the option and they use that money to go and sign another player who has a bit more experience in the Premier League.
“It’s a tough one but if I had to second-guess I would say if they go up, I’m not so sure they would. If they stay down then maybe they’ll keep him to help them get back up.”
Edwards hasn’t exactly lit up The Hawthorns with his performances this season so you can understand why Phillips is uncertain about his future.
He will turn 23 next season, doesn’t have any Premier League experience and is likely to drop down the pecking order if the Baggies bring in new attacking players.
However it would be better to trigger that year’s option rather than release Edwards on a free transfer, just to uphold the player’s transfer value at the very least.
In other West Brom news, Albion’s turnover plunged by £54million after relegation.