Nick Ware

Mon 18 January 2021 12:34, UK

West Brom loanee Filip Krovinovic is set to have his Albion deal terminated before making a temporary switch to Championship strugglers Nottingham Forest, according to Record.

The 25-year-old has been at The Hawthorns for the past 18 months from parent club Benfica but the Portuguese giants are set to recall him before sending him back out on loan to Forest.

It will cap a forgettable season so far for Krovinovic who has been left in the shadows after Sam Allardyce took the Albion reigns on, while it will release some more funds for the Baggies boss to improve his squad, with the player on a reported £29,000 per week [spotrac], making him one of the highest earners at the club.

Portuguese outlet Record have reported that a deal to take Krovinovic to Nottingham Forest on loan is ‘close’ with the East Midlands side locked in negotiations with the Primeira Liga outfit.

There had been reports that the midfielder would be moving elsewhere with John Percy claiming that he would be signing for Croatian side Hadjuk Split for the remainder of the season after having his Albion deal cancelled.

However, it now looks like he will be returning to the Championship where he has fond recent memories, but he will arrive at the City Ground with a club in a different position to the one he experienced last season with Chris Hughton’s side in 19th, though they are on the back of an impressive seven-match unbeaten run.

Parting of ways makes sense for all

The Croatian enjoyed a relatively successful first 12 months at Albion as he scored three times and set up a couple in 40 appearances to help them on their way to automatic promotion from the Championship.

He was never a sure-fire starter, indicated in his 16 substitute outings, but he was a valuable member of Slaven Bilic’s squad and did enough to secure an extension to his loan deal for this season.

He re-joined West Brom in late September and thus missed the beginning of the Premier League campaign but since his second coming he appeared in all of Bilic’s games until his sacking.

However, since Big Sam took charge it has been a different ball game for Krovinovic and he has played only once in his first five league games, a brief substitute outing in the 5-0 Hawthorns capitulation to Leeds United, while he started in the embarrassing FA Cup shoot-out defeat to Blackpool.

He returned to the bench for the Wolves win on Saturday and, with the recent arrival of Robert Snodgrass and the dazzling display from Matheus Pereira at Molineux, his place in the pecking order has taken a big hit.

With his chances in the attacking third limited it appears there is no place for Krovinovic with his unsuitability to play in the Albion midfield.

He is neither defensive-minded enough for the holding role or combative enough to play as a box-to-box midfielder like fellow loanee Conor Gallagher.

As such, the ending of his temporary deal suits all parties with the chance for him to get some regular game time in a division he knows well, while it frees up wages and another loan slot for West Brom to fill with someone who will be more important to their first-team squad.

In other West Brom news, pundit waxes lyrical about midfielder’s performance against Wolves in the Black Country Derby.

Be sure to follow West Brom News on Facebook and Twitter for 24/7 updates on the Baggies and more exclusive interviews with Kevin Phillips.