West Brom are facing an injury crisis right now with three of their centre back options currently sidelined through injury.
In his pre-match press conference ahead of the trip to Luton Town, Carlos Corberan revealed he would be unable to call upon Semi Ajayi, Paddy McNair, and Kyle Bartley for a lengthy period of time. Ajayi has been ruled out until February, McNair won’t be back until late December, and that’s towards the end of his loan spell. As for Bartley, he might be back towards the end of November or mid-December.
It leaves West Brom without their three centre-backs, and now Corberan will be tasked with a workaround. He suggested that Torbjorn Heggem could fill in the role, as well as Mason Holgate. Ousmane Diakite and Gianluca Frabotta could fill in the other roles with the defence forced into a reshuffle because of the injuries.
There is one other option to consider, and that’s looking at the free agent market. We’re a quarter of the way through the Championship season, and whilst there isn’t a risk in regards to paying a transfer fee for a player, there would be an expectation for a player to be up to speed with things, despite not playing any games, or training with a squad.
According to the squad lists submitted to the EFL that were published in September, there are 24 senior players registered with West Brom. It should mean that there is one more space for a free agent to be registered, should WBA wish to do so.
Below are five options for West Brom to consider.
Erik Pieters
The Baggies let Pieters go in the summer. He was on trial at Championship rivals Luton Town, but a move failed to materialise. Pieters was mainly a left-back, but in the later stages of his career moved in to centre-back.
The 36-year-old played 61 games for the Baggies, and has a decent amount of top-flight experience. He’s known to Corberan and the squad, so a short-term contract until January could work for both parties.
Filip Benkovic
Signed by Leicester City for a reported £13m, but never made the grade there. He had loans at Celtic, Bristol City, and OH Leuven. Benkovic joined Udinese, and had loans with Eintracht Braunschweig, and Trabzonspor but was let go by Udinese in August.
Benkovic may not have had a lot of experience in England, but to be worth £13m at one point in his career means there is a good player in there somewhere. The Croatian defender was successful during his time in Scotland, winning the treble.
Paul Dummett
A free agent at 33, having spent the majority of his career at Newcastle United. He was linked with a move to Portsmouth but it didn’t materialise. With 151 games of Premier League football, and five caps for Wales under his belt, he could be a good option.
James Tomkins
Without a club since this summer after being released by Crystal Palace. He’s spent the majority of his career in the Premier League, and has 386 club appearances to date. Tomkins was part of the West Ham side that won the Championship play-offs in 2012, and so it would be good to have someone who has been there and done it.
Ciaran Clark
Clark spent a large part of his career in the West Midlands, turning out for Aston Villa. He made 159 appearances for the Villains, before joining Newcastle United in 2016. He’s mainly played in the Premier League, but helped the Magpies win promotion in 2017, and also had spells with Sheffield United, and Stoke City. Clark was limited to just three appearances last term, and so he would have to prove his fitness.
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