Alex Mowatt to return to West Brom for pre-season after Middlesbrough loan ends
Alex Mowatt is expected to return to West Brom for pre-season after his loan spell at Middlesbrough ended in playoff heartache, according to the Birmingham Mail.
Mowatt joined the Teeside club on loan for the season after Steve Bruce decided he wasn’t going to be part of his plans for the season, and he went on to make over 30 appearances as they reached the playoff semi-finals.
But while Corberan is yet to make a final decision on the loanees that he hasn’t worked with yet, Mowatt is expected to return for pre-season initially once the summer break is over before a call is made.
“Alex Mowatt is setting sail from Middlesbrough and will return, at least initially, to West Bromwich Albion in time for the start of pre-season in the coming weeks following his summer break,” they wrote (19 May).
No surprise
Mowatt didn’t have a future under Bruce because he wanted to play horribly pragmatic football with a back three and it just didn’t suit.
But he has proven that he is more than capable of playing in a successful team at this level, and with West Brom not having any parachute payments anymore they need to be careful with their spending.
That means making the most of what they already have if they have the option and should Corberan want to take a closer look at him then pre-season with the transfer window still open is the best time for it.
There is no point rushing into a decision to sell too early unless there is an extraordinary offer on the table, but there’s also no point definitely planning to keep him without having taken a proper look at him first.
Next season is going to be tough as it is, so having a potential new signing in the squad to make an impact without any additional funds being needed can only be seen as a good thing.
In other West Brom news, Chris Lepkowski has fumed at the latest West Brom-Xu Ke development.