Time may be running out for Nathaniel Chalobah to save West Brom career after development in last 24 hours
Time may be running out for Nathaniel Chalobah at West Brom with news emerging regarding expiring 2024 contracts at The Hawthorns.
Birmingham Live journalist Joe Chapman shared on Friday (15 December) that the Albion are currently holding internal talks over the possibility of extending the contracts of several key players at the club.
West Brom are currently discussing the possibility of extending the contracts of players who have proven their worth to Carlos Corberan.
The report shared a list of several players who are just months away from expiring deals at the club, especially several youth prospects. Names include Tom Fellows, Alex Mowatt, Kyle Bartley and Reyes Cleary.
Chapman wrote: “It’s understood that the club are discussing the possibility of fresh agreements with certain players who have certainly proven their worth under Carlos Corberan.”
Given the number of players who are out of contract at The Hawthorns in June, it is certainly an area of pressing need for West Brom to address given the depleted squad already at Corberan’s disposal in comparison to their promotion rivals.
However, addressing that need will be silly without first putting the club and the playing staff in order first and that could see a few players leaving once their contracts are at an end.
One player certainly at risk of missing out on a new contract at The Hawthorns is Chalobah who has yet to convince fans and the Spaniard that he is deserving of regular starts under his watch this season.
So far this campaign, the former Watford and Chelsea midfielder has been resigned to a limited role with Corberan preferring Alex Mowatt and Okay Yokuslu as his preferred midfield partnership, a decision which has left Chalobah watching on from the sidelines.
Of his 17 appearances this season, the senior midfield man has started just five games [SofaScore] and played just 465 minutes of Championship action [Transfermarkt], coming to 28 minutes per game.
In his last start for the club, coming against Southampton in their dramatic 2-1 defeat (11 November), the 29-year-old was nowhere to be seen, touching the ball just 29 times, winning just one duel and no tackles or interceptions won in his 56 minutes on the pitch. It’s no wonder why Corberan is hesitant to start him.
Upon his move to the Hawthorns in January this year, he signed an 18-month contract which certainly suggested he may be only needed for a temporary role but still with the chance to prove he can be a West Brom player beyond June 2024.
At this moment in time, given the Baggies’ dire financial situation behind the scenes and their need to give their wage bill some breathing space, Chalobah staying in the West Midlands beyond his contract looks extremely unlikely.
It’s certainly safe to say that at this moment in time, Chalobah is running out of time to save his West Brom career.
In other West Brom news, Guochuan Lai appears to be very close to an exit from the Hawthorns amid a recent development involving a prospective takeover.