Former West Brom player Kieran Richardson has returned to the Baggies for training and could play in the club’s pre-season friendly against Barnet at The Hive on Saturday, according to Express and Star journalist Matt Wilson.
The reliable journalist claimed via his personal Twitter account on Saturday afternoon that free agent Richardson, 33, is training with Albion as he aims to keep up his fitness levels to help find a new club.
Great Escape hero Kieran Richardson and former Coventry defender Martin Cranie have been training with #wba to keep their fitness levels up with a view to move elsewhere and both could feature today. Club are not considering signing either.
— Matt Wilson (@mattianwilson) July 7, 2018
Richardson spent the second half of the 2004/05 season on loan at West Brom, where he helped keep the Black Country club in the Premier League thanks to a series of fine displays.
OPINION
Richardson will always be remembered by West Brom fans for his loan spell at the club in 2004/05. He scored three goals in 11 appearances for the Baggies, including one one the last day of the season in a 2-0 win against Portsmouth. That win saw Albion catapult themselves from bottom of the table to 17th and secure survival in the most dramatic of fashions. There’s obviously no chance that he will be getting signed up by Moore this summer. Richardson is well past his best but it’s nice for the club to offer a former player like him the chance to keep himself fit – even if he did have a spell at rivals Aston Villa. West Brom’s friendly against Barnet should be an interesting one. A lot of senior players will be missing so it could be a chance for some young stars to shine at The Hive.