West Brom nearly missed out on Tom Rogic to unnamed team earlier in the summer
West Brom boss Steve Bruce has admitted the club thought they had missed out on Tom Rogic before confirming his arrival this week.
The Baggies confirmed the signing of Australia international Rogic on a one-year deal at The Hawthorns this week, bolstering their midfield options for their chase to get back into the Premier League.
But after scouring the free agent market all summer, Bruce admitted that they looked at signing him during the transfer window but were under the impression he was going somewhere else before returning to the table after it didn’t materialise.
“Earlier in the window we thought he was done and dusted somewhere else, that didn’t happen, didn’t materialise,” Steve Bruce said, as quoted by Birmingham Mail [13 September].
“I haven’t really asked Tom what the situation was, but we were under the assumption that he was gone somewhere else.
“He came on the radar very quickly, it got done very quickly, considering he was in Australia. He couldn’t wait to get here. It was one of the easiest ones we’ve done, and we’ve got a very good player on our hands.
“He’s only 29, played 300 times for Celtic, I’ve seen him many times, we’re pleased that we got that one done.”
Brilliant
Despite the severe lack of cash at the club currently, West Brom have done some superb business in the transfer window and now after it too.
Rogic is a player who will greatly improve the options available to Bruce, and he comes with phenomenal experience and a winning mentality.
He was a key part of the Celtic side that won the Scottish Premiership last season and went unbeaten from October onwards in the league, but his hunger for a new challenge saw him leave the club a year earlier than his contract was supposed to expire.
Bringing him in now strengthens the squad and adds greater competition for places, while also improving the level in training and giving more avenues for Bruce to go down with his system.
It’s excellent news that the club have pushed forward to get this deal done once the opportunity arose once again and despite the window being closed.
The board have done a good job of strengthening the squad despite limited funds this summer, and now it’s on Bruce to start getting results.
In other West Brom news, Chris Lepkowski suggests new role for Baggies man after new development