Journalist suggests West Brom could make January move after Kean Bryan injury update
West Brom could be forced to dip their toes into the January transfer market after a huge injury blow to Kean Bryan, according to Joe Chapman.
The Birmingham Mail journalist, writing via his personal Twitter profile, suggests a new defender could be on the agenda after Bryan was ruled out for the rest of the 2021/22 campaign.
The 25-year-old summer signing was taken off in the first half of Wednesday’s 1-0 win over Hull City, and he missed Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough as a result.
Subsequent scans have revealed an anterior cruciate ligament injury, and Albion confirmed the devastating news that the ex-Sheffield United defender’s season had come to an end in a statement via their club website on Monday afternoon.
Reacting to the news, Chapman wrote: “Brought in as injury cover himself, to lose him is less than ideal. If [Semi] Ajayi goes to AFCON, Albion might have a decision to make in the January window.”
Reinforcements required?
West Brom have had rotten luck in defence this season.
Dara O’Shea was ruled out for many months after sustaining a serious injury on international duty with the Republic of Ireland in September, while Matt Clarke has played just nine times after injury issues of his own.
Now, Bryan has become the latest victim after making his first start for the club, and just his third appearance in total.
That still leaves Ajayi, Kyle Bartley and Cedric Kipre as senior options at centre-back, while there are the promising talents of Caleb Taylor and Saul Shotton in reserve.
However, given Albion’s system requires three starting at all times, there is a significant shortage of them in the squad now, though Valerien Ismael has opted to play Conor Townsend there in recent games as well.
But as Chapman alludes to, Ajayi could also be out of action for a while if he is selected by Nigeria for the AFCON tournament in January.
Ajayi has been overlooked for their November games against Liberia and Cape Verde, but there’s still a chance he could earn a recall in the next couple of months.
That would really leave Albion down to the bare bones, and action may be required in January.
In other West Brom news, Matheus Pereira was spotted at The Hawthorns last week.
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