West Brom to sign new forward in January after major development at The Hawthorns
West Brom manager Carlos Corberan wants to sign a new forward in the January transfer window to replace the injured Matt Phillips.
Phillips, 32, had been in good form for the Albion this season before suffering a torn hamstring in the defeat to Leicester, meaning he’ll be sidelined until at least April [Express & Star].
Speaking ahead of Albion’s trip to Sunderland this weekend, Corberan confirmed that he wants to enter the transfer market to sign a replacement for the Scottish winger.
“Football can challenge you a lot. We know that Phillips is injured – you have a need. Depending on the possibilities, we will cover the needs,” Corberan said, as quoted by the Birmingham Mail on Saturday (9 December).
“I need to review it in a few weeks, to see the specific situation when the market is going to open and what the options are before I can give you an answer.
“It’s still early. We need to see our possibilities as a club and still we need to see what happens before the market begins – we are going to play six games in a very demanding period of the competition.
“Now we need to replace Phillips. It’s something nobody expected and now it’s happened. Things can still happen in that time and Phillips is the clear example. With the injury of Phillips we must now watch our possibilities. A lot of things can happen between the market opening and closing, before we can talk in detail.”
Easier said than done
West Brom’s financial issues mean that it won’t be that easy for Corberan to find a new forward to replace the versatile Phillips.
So far this season, Phillips has played up front, on the left-wing and as a wing-back on either side of the pitch.
You don’t get too many players as versatile as that and if Corberan really wants to replace the ex-Blackpool ace properly, he’ll need to make a couple of signings.
Unfortunately, the Baggies probably don’t have the financial capacity to do something like that unless they end up signing a couple of youngsters on loan or they’re able to get lucky and strike a free transfer for someone with a bit of experience.
It’s been confirmed that West Brom have gained more funding from MSD Holdings to help them through the January transfer window while a takeover process goes on behind the scenes at The Hawthorns.
If the club’s debt is being increased just to cover a short period of time, it’s fair to say that there’s very little – if anything at all – in the bank for Corberan to sign new players under the Chinese ownership.
In other West Brom news, Don Goodman has predicted the scoreline between Albion and Sunderland.