West Brom look set to be further decimated in the New Year, with AFCON set to claim a handful of Baggies players.
West Brom already have a depleted squad due to injuries, with the attacking department particularly light with all of Josh Maja, Daryl Dike, and Matt Phillips currently sidelined.
And AFCON looks set to further deplete Carlos Corberan‘s side with Grady Diangana and now Brandon Thomas-Asante potentially heading to the tournament, which starts on January 9th.
That leaves the likes of Jed Wallace, John Swift, Jeremey Sarmiento, and Tom Fellows as Corberan’s only fit attacking options and so there’s definitely cause for concern ahead of the New Year, especially with the club seemingly in the midst of a takeover and therefore not knowing what they can really do in the transfer market next month.
But the Baggies continue to be linked with players. Ben Brereton Diaz is among several names linked ahead of the New Year, but one potential option could be Nathaniel Mendez-Laing.
Nathaniel Mendez-Laing turning heads in League One
The former Cardiff City and Middlesbrough man has rediscovered his best form with Derby County in League One this season.
The versatile 31-year-old has scored five goals and assisted seven more in 22 League One outings so far this season, after recording 15 goal contributions in the last campaign with the Rams.
And his fine form this season has seen links to the Championship emerge; it’s reported that Birmingham City, Huddersfield Town, and Hull City are all keen ahead of the January transfer window.
Should West Brom join the transfer chase?
Given his age, many fans night turn their nose up at the possibility of signing Mendez-Laing.
But Corberan has a knack for getting the best, or at least more out of players no matter their age; Kyle Bartley and Phillips are two prime examples of this, with both players having become key names under the Spaniard this season.
And Mendez-Laing is versatile too which is something that seems vital in this fluid West Brom side, with names like Wallace, Swift, Maja, and Phillips all playing flexible roles in the side.
Mendez-Laing has the physicality and quality to be deployed anywhere across the front-line, be it on either flank or as a pressing no.9, and he’s experienced in the second tier too with 95 Championship appearances to his name, and 13 goals and 14 assists to add to that as well.
With his contract out at the end of the season, he could be available in next month’s window, though it obviously won’t come too cheap given his importance to Derby and their promotion push from League One, and also given the fact that many teams are said to be keen.
But Mendez-Laing could definitely soften the blow of AFCON for Corberan and add another impressive player to his attacking ranks.