Exclusive: Phillips warns West Brom about signing players on loan if they go up
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 warned West Brom against signing too many players on loan if they win promotion to the Premier League this season.
Albion have had plenty of players on loan at The Hawthorns during the last two years in the Championship but the Black Country club has also had a tendency to seal temporary deals when they were in the Premier League.
There have been some loanees who have shone in the West Midlands with Ben Foster, Romelu Lukaku, Harvey Barnes, Dwight Gayle and Matheus Pereira being among them.
And then you have had the major flops with Daniel Sturridge, Grzegorz Krychowiak and Scott Sinclair being some of the worst loan signings in recent history.
Phillips is not fully against players coming in on loan but he would like them to be battle-hardened players rather than youngsters from teams at the top-end of the Premier League.
“I’m not against loan signings but one or two can certainly bolster your squad,” Phillips told West Brom News. “When you’re top of the league and you’re firing and you have loan players, everything’s rosy.
“I’ve been in that situation before having been relegated three times and for players who are on loan, when the going gets tough, they might have come on loan from a club that’s never been in a relegation battle, so is that fight in them?”
West Brom’s loan signings have been very hit and miss.
Although there have been some good ones this season with Pereira, Grady Diangana and Callum Robinson all standing out at The Hawthorns, you only have to look as far back as last term to see how the club can get it wrong.
Barnes was magic in his loan spell at West Brom but losing him in January was a killer blow. Jefferson Montero, Stefan Johansen and Tosin Adarabioyo also struggled on loan at the club.
We need more Lukakus, Pereiras and Fosters to join West Brom on loan. No more Sturridges and Krychowiaks, please.
In other West Brom news, Martin Tyler has shared what he likes about The Hawthorns.