Erik Pieters confident of succeeding at West Brom after joining as free agent
Erik Pieters insists he is capable of performing well at West Brom after joining the Baggies on a one-year deal this week.
Pieters has been training with the Baggies for the last six weeks, and impressed manager Steve Bruce enough to earn himself a permanent stay in the West Midlands.
At 34 years of age, Pieters is nearing the end of his career, but the veteran left-back is confident of making a positive impression at his new club.
During an interview with the club’s official website, Pieters said: “I’ve finally found a club and I want to prove myself and show what I still have in me.
“It’s down to me to prove that I’m worthy of being signed here and that I still have what it takes to play at this level of football. I’m confident I can do that.
“I still love the game. When my body is telling me that it can’t handle it anymore then that’s when I’ll have to think about what the future holds, but I still feel great. I’m ready to go.”
A ready-made improvement
Pieters will improve West Brom this season. Despite his age and lack of game time in recent years, he has clearly stayed fit and seems ready to take this opportunity with both hands.
From their poor start to the season, it was blatantly clear that the Baggies needed to improve their defensive depth this summer, and Pieters does just that. He brings plenty of experience to the table and provides some much-needed competition for Conor Townsend.
Pieters’ arrival is certainly only a short-term fix for a defence that has leaked 10 goals in eight games, but Bruce needs to get his side back on track quickly – Pieters can help do just that.
Only time will tell whether he follows up on his promise of being able to still compete at this level, but his fairly impressive CV and previous Premier League experience suggest that he’ll cope just fine this campaign.
In other West Brom news, midfielder Quevin Castro is on his last chance after securing loan move