Exclusive: Kevin Phillips says West Brom could release senior player next year
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 admitted that West Brom might release left-back Kieran Gibbs when his contract expires next year.
Gibbs, 30, signed a four-year deal at The Hawthorns when he joined the Baggies from Arsenal in 2017 but that agreement ends in 2021 with no signs of talks over a new contract as of yet.
Although he is still a top left-back for a club in the Championship, Gibbs’ season has been ravaged by injuries with him appearing just 11 times in all competitions for Albion this term.
Gibbs will be close to turning 32-years-old when his contract expires at West Brom and ex-striker Phillips isn’t convinced that the Baggies will offer him an extension.
When asked if he sees the club extending Gibbs’ contract, Phillips told West Brom News: “In my honest opinion, probably not with the age he’s at now.
“They’ll probably just see how it goes but if they go up they’ll maybe go down the route of bringing [in a new left-back].
“Kieran’s a good player – he’s been a good player for a long time. I might be completely wrong but in my personal opinion, I don’t know whether they’ll offer him one.
“They might offer him another year but I can’t see them offering another two or three years and that might be an area they look to strengthen.”
Sadly, Phillips is probably right.
Gibbs is a great left-back and has a superb career that has seen him win silverware with Arsenal and play 10 times for England.
However his injuries have been a major issue this season and we cannot be sure about what he’ll be like once he finally gets back to play.
Conor Townsend and Nathan Ferguson have been brilliant as stand-in left-backs this season plus, as Phillips says, West Brom may look for an upgrade if they win promotion into the Premier League.
In other West Brom news, there’s been a new agreement with Sporting CP over Matheus Pereira’s permanent transfer.