West Brom: Rayhaan Tulloch may return from ‘difficult’ loan situation as manager makes ‘banish’ promise
West Brom academy graduate Rayhaan Tulloch could return to The Hawthorns in January after suffering a lack of game time on loan at Bradford this season, although he has been reassured by manager Graham Alexander.
The boss conceded that both Tulloch and fellow loanee Chisom Afoka are in a difficult position after a change of formation, but assured them they would not be banished from the squad.
According to The Yorkshire Post, Tulloch’s loan deal has a break clause in January, so if West Brom feel neither they nor Tulloch are benefiting from the deal, they may opt to recall him.
Speaking to The Yorkshire Post [13 December], Alexander shared: “I had a chat with them 10 days to two weeks ago. I know it hasn’t gone how they hoped or planned. The change of formation might make it difficult for players in those positions to break through.
But the opportunity is there. I say every day is an opportunity for players. Sometimes when players in general say they haven’t been given the opportunity, they train every single day.
“You’re training for your manager against your team-mates. That’s an opportunity to go, ‘I can be in this team and help you win’.
“It’s the same with them. While players are signed with us, training fully fit, they always have that opportunity for me. I never banish players off to different teams or anything like that. I want to keep everyone together as much as we can.”
Tulloch has made just eight league appearances so far this season out of a possible 20, with only two of those eight coming from the start as he has struggled to make his mark at the Yorkshire club.
At 22 years old, the promise Tulloch had once shown at The Hawthorns does not look like it will appear again, and having struggled for regular appearances on loan in League Two, any resurgence into the Baggies first-team in the future looks like being a distant hope.
The most reasonable, and perhaps most likely option for Tulloch, may be to have the loan cut short in January to find another move which can guarantee him more playing time, whether that would be at the same level or perhaps lower down the pyramid.
It’s a sad turn for a player who once looked like he would have a part to play at The Hawthorns, but with this, the latest of a number of uninspiring loan spells, a more long-term solution could be found to get him off the books come the summer.
In other West Brom news, Keiran Maguire has responded to the latest takeover news.