Steve Bruce wants West Brom to sign Conor Hourihane from Aston Villa
Steve Bruce is in the hunt for West Brom to sign Aston Villa midfielder Conor Hourihane in the summer transfer window, according to Football League World.
Hourihane, 31, has spent this season on loan at promotion-chasing Sheffield United and his contract at Villa Park expires at the end of June.
It is understood that Albion could sign the Republic of Ireland midfielder as a free agent with the Black Country club now planning for a second consecutive season in the Championship.
Easy link
Hourihane is set to be available in the summer, has spent several years playing in the West Midlands, has won promotion twice in his career, is a midfielder and is someone who Bruce has previously managed.
It seems fairly easy to make this link, doesn’t it?
Hourihane is someone who has bags of experience playing in the Championship.
He’s made 171 appearances at this level, scoring 30 goals, supplying 35 assists and winning promotion with Villa via the play-offs in 2019.
In November 2019, Bruce hailed Hourihane’s “magic” impact against his former club Newcastle when they suffered a defeat to Villa in the Premier League.
Bruce is clearly a fan of the Irishman, so you can see why this speculation has arisen.
Ron Gourlay and Bruce will no doubt be drawing up their plans for the summer already with West Brom’s season all but over.
There needs to be a huge overhaul of the squad while the midfield needs some proper TLC with the club not signing anyone of real quality there for years.
In other West Brom news, Albion also want to sign a player who’s been recently compared to Diego Maradona.
Be sure to follow West Brom News on Facebook for 24/7 updates on the Baggies plus more exclusive interviews with Kevin Phillips.