OPINION
West Bromwich Albion have surely dodged a bullet by missing out on signing Andy King after Derby County manager Frank Lampard revealed that the player was set to be out for the season.
The Telegraph reported in January that the Baggies had made the 30-year-old midfielder a transfer target with Leicester City willing to let him go.
Yet King ended up joining Derby County on loan until the end of the season instead, and it seems West Brom were in fact lucky to miss out.
Lampard shared on Thursday that the midfielder had suffered ankle ligament damage in the loss to Nottingham Forest and was set to go see a surgeon.
“He is going down to see a surgeon. He’s got a bad ankle injury. Unfortunately when it rains, it pours for us,” the Derby County manager said, as quoted by Sky Sports.
“Unfortunately for Andy King as much as anybody because he is a great pro, I’ve seen that in the short time he’s been here. He was going to be important for us and then you get a freak injury.”
Ahead of getting injured King had not been able to get fully up to speed in order to make a huge positive impact on Derby’s fortunes.
In fact the 30-year-old looked a bit rusty having not featured much for the Foxes ahead of joining and never managed to complete 90 minutes in any of his four league appearances for the Rams..
To make matters worse, Sky Sports journalist Rob Dorsett shared via his personal Twitter account that Derby had a duty of care regarding King which suggested they may be picking up his medical bill.
Andy King is out for rest of the season. Frank Lampard has revealed he will see a surgeon to discuss whether he needs an operation on his injured ankle. He will return to Leicester, but Derby also have a duty of care to make sure he gets the best treatment possible. #dcfc #lcfc
— Rob Dorsett (@RobDorsettSky) February 28, 2019
“Andy King is out for rest of the season,” tweeted the reporter.
“Frank Lampard has revealed he will see a surgeon to discuss whether he needs an operation on his injured ankle.
“He will return to Leicester, but Derby also have a duty of care to make sure he gets the best treatment possible.”
Therefore it seems West Brom may have gotten lucky with Derby beating them to King’s signature as who knows, his spell at the Baggies could have been equally as disappointing.