West Brom must delve into the loan market for additional defensive cover
West Brom and Steve Bruce must delve into the loan market if further defensive additions are required at The Hawthorns, according to Birmingham Live’s Joe Chapman.
Chapman revealed (via Twitter, 31 August) that the Baggies don’t have recall options on Caleb Taylor and Cedric Kipre, who are out on loan at Cheltenham and Cardiff City respectively.
It’s understood that the Baggies will have to delve into the loan and free agent market to find cover for central defender Semu Ajayi after the 28-year-old suffered an injury in the Baggies Championship fixture against Wigan Athletic.
Bad timing
This couldn’t have come at a worst time for Bruce with only a matter of hours left in the transfer window for the Baggies boss to find an adequate replacement for Ajayi.
A striker has finally been secured for Bruce with Salford forward Brandon Thomas-Asante the man the Baggies have turned to.
This issue for Bruce is that the majority of the top quality free agents have now been snapped up, much as he did with Jed Wallace and John Swift at the start of the summer window.
Looking to the loan market could be a smarter move for Bruce, with Premier League clubs now area of what they have to work with after undergoing their summer business.
Top six clubs could now be inclined to loan some of their younger players out to gain first-team experience and more game time and that is something the Baggies boss could take advantage of.
Considering the relatively slow business at The Hawthorns in recent weeks, fans shouldn’t hold out much hope on what Bruce can conjure up.
After a slow start to the season, for his sake, he needs a busy end to the window.
In other West Brom news, Albion could have been welcoming a new loan signing but they have messed up as he heads towards Birmingham instead.