Steve Bruce not ruling out free transfers arriving at West Brom
The January transfer window may have come and gone but that doesn’t mean West Brom are finished searching for new players to improve their squad.
Valerien Ismael was in charge throughout the window but he was sacked just days later with Steve Bruce coming in to replace the Frenchman at the helm.
The 61-year-old might not be able to sign anyone from another club but he could still exercise the free market for talent if the right player is available.
It is, of course, the way Ismael signed Andy Carroll late in the January window and there could be more incoming at The Hawthorns in the same manner.
“You never give up hope, if there is somebody out there who can make you better,” he said, as quoted by the Birmingham Mail. “It’s very, very difficult that now with work permits – it’s very rare you find somebody out of contract who is available, but if there is we will look at the opportunity – that’s for sure.”
Don’t be desperate
While the Baggies squad could certainly do with improvement, it will be very hard to find that on the free transfer market at this point in the season, as Bruce rightly points out.
They need to be careful not to sign players for the sake of it and only make additions if they are going to improve the team on the pitch or help the current squad off it.
Most players of this ilk though are already contracted elsewhere so Bruce may well be left with what he received from Ismael until the summer.
That doesn’t have to be a bad thing though, these players are of genuine quality and should be a match for any Championship side on any given day.
The form has been abysmal of late but the Baggies are still in a playoff place for now and that gives them something to play for.
This group of players are more than capable of picking up results again and who knows what might happen if they can stay within the top six when May comes around?
In other West Brom news, CEO Ron Gourlay has outlined where improvements need to be made off the pitch.