So far, 2023 has been quite a promising year for West Brom, at least on the pitch, anyway.
And 2024 could yet hold even more prosper for the Baggies. But Carlos Corberan and the West Brom chiefs could have some rebuilding to do, with a few players out of contract next summer.
West Brom have nine first-team players out of contract next summer, with some key names set to become free agents as things stand; among those are the likes of Alex Mowatt, Matt Phillips, Cedric Kipre, and Nathaniel Chalobah.
The latter was seemingly on the verge of leaving The Hawthorns in the summer after John Percy revealed that the former Chelsea man was in talks over a potential move to Maccabi Haifa, though that eventually fell through.
Since, the 28-year-old has featured in 14 of West Brom’s opening 16 Championship fixtures this season, recording one assist having largely played a rotational role so far.
Pre-contract agreements…
As of January 1st, players in England who are in the final six months of their contracts can agree pre-contract deals with teams overseas.
So for the likes of Chalobah who’s had previous interest from abroad, he’s then free to agree terms with any overseas team, which could eventually mean him leaving West Brom as a free agent next summer.
Should West Brom sell Chalobah in January?
It certainly seemed like Chalobah was one of the many that were up for sale in the summer, and with no signs of improvement to West Brom’s financial predicament, expect the same set to players to be up for sale in January.
And those like Chalobah, who are out of contract next summer, may well be the first to be put in the shop window, with the Baggies no doubt desperate to avoid losing assets for free.
Chalobah has played an important, albeit rotational role this season, and Corberan would surely like to keep him around.
But if an offer comes in then West Brom could jump at it, especially given the possibility that he could agree pre-contract terms elsewhere and eventually leave for nothing.
It’s definitely a tricky one for the Baggies to manage. But if the club can offload one or two in the January transfer window then it could give Corberan some resources to build on this promotion push.
West Brom return to Championship action vs 2nd place Ipswich Town on Saturday afternoon, with kick off at 3pm.