Eric Ramsay faces early West Brom headache as Aston Villa transfer call days away
Eric Ramsay has just encountered his first problem at West Brom.
Ramsay was announced as West Brom’s new head coach on Sunday and has signed a deal that will keep him at The Hawthorns until June 2028.
He replaced Ryan Mason, who was sacked by West Brom after leading the Baggies to 10 consecutive away defeats in the Championship.
Several players have underperformed this season, and Ramsay has a huge job on his hands to turn around the disastrous start to the season.
Samuel Iling-Junior joined West Brom on a season-long loan deal from Aston Villa, although Ramsay may not have the 22-year-old available for Friday’s match against Middlesbrough as Unai Emery has to make a decision on his future.
Aston Villa have two days to make Samuel Iling-Junior decision
Iling-Junior has already had loan spells at Middlesbrough and Bologna in his career, but neither of those were successful, and he has also failed to impress at West Brom.
The Athletic has reported that 16 January is the final day for Villa to decide whether to recall several of their current players who are out on loan.
There have been talks about Iling-Junior potentially being recalled, although no final decision has been made.
| Club | Appearances | Goals |
| Juventus | 45 | 2 |
| Bologna | 16 | 2 |
| Middlesbrough | 16 | 2 |
| West Brom | 20 | 1 |
The English winger has featured in exactly half of West Brom‘s Championship minutes this season, but the loan spell hasn’t gone well for him.
Iling-Junior has been slammed for some of his performances this season, but Ramsay would no doubt like to assess all of his current options.
With Villa unsure on whether to recall Iling-Junior or not, it makes it extremely tough for the new head coach to plan his squad for his first game as the future of one of his players currently in doubt.
It’s safe to say that he didn’t play well under Mason, and if he does remain in B71, then a solid performance against Middlesbrough on Friday would do him the world of good.
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West Brom to be left short if Iling-Junior call is made
While the majority of Baggies fans would love to see Iling-Junior return to Villa, Ramsay would then have a lack of depth out wide.
Mikey Johnston has been one of the standout players of the season, but other than him, they are relatively thin.
Karlan Grant, Isaac Price and Jed Wallace are perhaps the only players who can also play out wide, but that would leave incredibly weak options on the bench.
The Baggies have remained inactive in the transfer window so far, and Ramsay may have a say on potential players towards the end of the month.
However, the priority for him at this moment in time is to understand what Villa’s plans are for Iling-Junior.