‘Ridiculous’, ‘Strange’ – Some West Brom fans react to possible new deals for two senior players
West Brom fans appear divided on social media after reading that Jonathan Bond and Ali-Habsi could be offered new contracts at The Hawthorns.
Albion’s second and third-choice goalkeepers are both out of contract this summer, meaning that Slaven Bilic and Luke Dowling would have to go on the hunt for replacements if one or both were to leave.
The Athletic has reported that Sam Johnstone is expected to stay as the Baggies’ first-choice goalkeeper if they win promotion to the Premier League and new deals could be offered to both Bond, 27, and 38-year-old Al-Habsi.
Bond has made just seven appearances for West Brom since joining them in 2018 and none of those appearances have come in the Championship.
In his last outing, in the 3-2 FA Cup defeat to Newcastle in March, the former England Under-21 international did little to impress and made a lot of fans realise how lucky they are to have Johnstone starting every week in the league.
As for Al-Habsi, the former Bolton and Wigan shot-stopper hasn’t played a single game for Albion since joining on a free transfer last year, with it being widely known he was only signed to be a third-choice ‘keeper.
There are some West Brom fans who are pleased that the senior duo could be offered new deals but there are more who don’t think it would be the best idea.
What we think is that it is hard to sign a decent third-choice goalkeeper and Al-Habsi arrived at The Hawthorns knowing that was his job.
Not many clubs can boast a third-choice ‘keeper who has 128 international caps and 111 Premier League appearances.
However, no one knows how well he’d play if, for whatever reason, he has to play a match or two.
It’s a tough one but here is what some West Brom fans had to say about the news on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/barryd19651/status/1273213859638247425
https://twitter.com/TOMWBAFC1/status/1273224972442439680
In other West Brom news, Kevin Phillips believes Gareth Barry could be offered a coaching role at The Hawthorns.
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