West Brom player ‘finished at The Hawthorns’ after what Mowbray’s publicly admitted
West Brom will go through their usual squad overhaul in the summer, which has been a busy one over the past couple of years.
Tony Mowbray will want his own spin on a side he has already impacted for the better in an attacking sense, with Andrew Nestor and Shilen Patel able to accommodate several forward signings in the January transfer window.
The expressive Albion manager wants free-flowing football at The Hawthorns, supplemented by a sturdy backbone of the team defensively which has yielded some improved performances in the Championship.
However, some will fall by the wayside this summer and one player in particular has been slammed as “not up to speed” to play for the Baggies by his manager.
West Brom need to move on Gianluca Frabotta
West Brom need to find a suitable party to take on Gianluca Frabotta this summer, given his lack of playing time and little faith from Mowbray.
The West Brom boss has admitted Frabotta is “not up to speed or ready to play in our first team” – a damning indictment of a player brought in last year on a three-year contract from Juventus.
While a free transfer, the hope was that the 25-year-old Italian would fit seamlessly into a squad then overseen by Carlos Corberan, but he is still yet to start a Championship match for Albion and has played just an hour of league football.
Torbjorn Heggem – also recruited ahead of this season after the departure of Cedric Kipre – has been a standout defender but is not a natural left-back. The centre-half was preferred to unused substitute Frabotta in the improvised role against Hull City (15 March) with Callum Styles out, and it speaks volumes.
For the player’s sake as much as the club who pays his wages, Frabotta needs an escape route from The Hawthorns, even for a nominal fee or season-long loan in 2025-26.
Frabotta was a gamble gone wrong
Frabotta is at a crossroads while now into his mid-20s – a senior pro by all accounts – and must be frustrated with the path his career has taken, a series of unsettled stepping stones and loan deals.
Making his professional breakthrough at Bologna, he joined the Juventus Under-23 side before playing 16 Serie A games for the senior team in a real highlight period.
| Gianluca Frabotta – 2024-25 | Appearances | Minutes |
| Championship | 6 | 59 |
| EFL Cup | 1 | 62 |
However, Frabotta endured five loan spells in three years from Juve, essentially passed around like a hot potato before his release and subsequent punt by West Brom where he has suffered with injury.
It was a low-risk signing to bring him in, but his wages will have come at a premium courtesy of his lack of transfer fee, and a three-year deal for a player openly not rated by Mowbray is not sustainably ideal.
West Brom should look to give him the fresh start he needs in the summer, and Frabotta will want a departure from The Hawthorns if he wants the best out of his career.