Ron Gourlay statement due as West Brom deadline-day failure leads to widespread outrage
It’s time to talk about what happened on transfer deadline day at West Brom.
Martin Kelly was the only player to arrive at The Hawthorns with the defender, 32, arriving on a two-year deal from Crystal Palace despite making just three appearances in senior football since January 2020.
Yes, that’s right. Three appearances since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
There’s no denying Albion needed to add an extra body at the back with Semi Ajayi getting injured and Steve Bruce is bound to have seen one-time England cap Kelly as someone who can kill two birds with one stone as he can play at centre-back and right-back.
But still, Wayne Rooney has more appearances in club football in that timeframe and he’s been retired for well over a year and managed two clubs on different continents.
However, the issue isn’t with signing Kelly.
It’s who Albion didn’t sign.
Callum Robinson was sold to Cardiff to raise funds with the Ireland international costing the Welsh club £1.5million [BBC Sport Wales].
Bruce, as a result, had a bit of money to play around with.
It was widely reported that Josh Onomah was due to sign for West Brom on loan from Fulham on Thursday (1 September).
Express & Star journalist Lewis Cox reported at 07:11pm that Onomah had undergone a medical with the Baggies before The Telegraph’s John Percy claimed at 08:23pm that Brighton midfielder Steven Alzate was also undergoing medical checks with the Black Country club.
Neither signed.
Albion had two players booked in for medicals and as of yet, there’s been no official update from CEO Ron Gourlay, or anyone at the club, to address the lack of additions.
Gourlay, who arrived at The Hawthorns at the start of the year, said on his arrival that he “will work tirelessly” to rebuild the broken relationship between the club and the fans.
If anything, he’s made it worse.
It’s unclear what happened with Alzate but according to The Telegraph journalist Mike McGrath, the paperwork for Onomah’s loan move from Fulham wasn’t submitted in time for the deal to be completed.
McGrath added that the Albion can make an appeal and are likely to do so.
However, there’s an eye-bursting silence from the club and fans are none the wiser as to whether or not this has happened and whether Onomah is signing or not.
Also on deadline day, West Brom were priced out of a move for Southampton’s Theo Walcott.
While it wasn’t the biggest of blows to see the former Arsenal attacker fail to make a move to The Hawthorns, The Athletic’s Jacob Tanswell reported that the deal didn’t happen because West Brom had insufficient funding to complete it.
Meanwhile, chairman and controlling shareholder Guochuan Lai owes the club up to £12million in unpaid loans and Bruce can’t even finance a loan deal for an old, injury-prone, out-of-favour Southampton player.
West Bromwich Albion are a mess.
It starts at the top but no one at the club are doing themselves any favours.
And while the buck ultimately stops with Lai, Gourlay’s failure to stick by his own words is breaking the relationship between fan and club even more than it already was.
We’re owed an explanation. We’re owed an update.
They’re forgetting that Albion play on Friday night at The Hawthorns against Burnley.
Things could go south very quickly if Albion don’t perform well.
In other West Brom news, Albion had a late look at signing this Bundesliga player, according to Sky in Germany.