Dowling: West Brom held advanced contract talks with attacker before coronavirus pandemic
It has been confirmed that West Brom have taken up the option to extend Kyle Edwards’ contract by a further 12 months.
The 22-year-old’s deal was due to expire at the end of June but he is now set to remain at The Hawthorns until at least next summer after his contract was extended by the club.
Edwards has enjoyed more first-team football this season than he has done in his entire career at West Brom with the attacker appearing 28 times in all competitions and scoring two goals in the process as well as supplying three assists.
West Brom’s sporting director Luke Dowling has revealed that the club was in advanced talks with Edwards about a new and improved contract before the coronavirus pandemic paused discussions.
“We were in advanced discussions with Kyle and his representative when the pandemic brought everything to a halt,” Dowling told Albion’s official website.
“Those discussions will resume at a suitable point but it made sense in the meantime to activate the option that keeps Kyle with us until the end of the following season.”
Clearly, triggering that one-year extension in Edwards’ deal makes a lot of sense otherwise West Brom would risk losing the young attacker at the end of June.
Edwards might not have lit up the Championship with his performances this season but he has chipped in with some good performances here and there that have helped Slaven Bilic’s side sit where they currently are in the league standings.
Edwards still has some work to do in terms of his development but we have still been encouraged by what we have seen.
In other West Brom news, Kevin Phillips admits Albion could release this senior defender when his contract expires.
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