Phillips: West Brom failed to sign Winston Reid due to London pull – Exclusive
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…
West Brom may have failed to sign Winston Reid from West Ham in January due to the attraction of staying in London, according to Kevin Phillips.
Reid, 32, had spent 2020 on loan at MLS outfit Sporting Kansas City but returned to the London Stadium at the end of the season in the USA. According to the Kansas City Star, the New Zealand centre-back’s £70,000-a-week wages stopped Kansas from signing him permanently.
In December, speaking exclusively to West Brom News, ex-Albion striker Phillips claimed that Reid should be a player Sam Allardyce wanted to sign in the January transfer window.
However, Big Sam failed to sign any new defenders last month and on transfer deadline day, Reid joined Championship high-flyers Brentford on loan.
Phillips believes that a move to an in-form club in the capital would have been more attractive than heading to the West Midlands to join a relegation scrap.
“With Winston Reid, it might have been about staying in London,” Phillips told West Brom News.
“Brentford look like a team that could get promoted this season, they’re sitting second in the league.
“It could have just been geography was the issue with that one.”
Reid has made two appearances since joining Brentford on loan but both of them have come as a substitute in the last stages of wins over Bristol City and Middlesbrough.
It remains to be seen whether or not the failure to sign a new centre-back at West Brom will work out but the early signs are not great, with Sheffield United and Tottenham each netting twice against us in the last two matches.
Reid is someone who has a great deal of experience in the Premier League with 167 top-flight appearances to his name in English football.
He’ll probably end up being a good signing for Brentford but those £70,000-a-week wages would likely have been too much for West Brom to match when they’ve already filled both domestic loan spots with Conor Gallagher and Ainsley Maitland-Niles.
In other West Brom news, fans want this 45-year-old manager to replace Sam Allardyce if he’s sacked.
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