The Daily Mail recently published a report linking West Bromwich Albion with a move for Brentford left-back Rico Henry.
West Brom are set to compete in the Premier League next season and one of the positions that they are rumoured to be interested in strengthening ahead of the 2020/21 campaign is the left-back position.
The Baggies currently have two left-backs in their squad, one being ex-Arsenal and England defender Kieran Gibbs, however, Gibbs struggled with injury throughout the 2019/20 campaign and reports have been linking him with a move away from The Hawthorns this summer.
One man who has been mentioned as a possible replacement for Gibbs is Brentford left-back Henry. The Bees secured a third-place finish in the Championship last season, finishing just two points behind the Baggies, and they went on to lose 2-1 to Fulham in the 2019/20 Championship play-off final.
Following their play-off final loss, Brentford players such as Ollie Watkins and Said Benrahma have been linked with a move to Premier League clubs and the Daily Mail has reported that Henry is also ‘being chased’ by teams that are set to compete in England’s top flight next season, one of them being West Brom.
However, the Baggies are said to be facing competition for the £1.8m-rated man’s signature from West Ham United, Leeds United and Brighton and Hove Albion.
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TIF Thoughts…
If Gibbs leaves The Hawthorns this summer, then it may not be a surprise to see West Brom enter the transfer market for a left-back.
Conor Townsend played 27 games for West Brom at left-back during the 2019/20 Championship campaign and he earned a positive overall rating of 6.87/10 from those 27 league appearances according to WhoScored, making him the Baggies’ joint-fifth-highest-rated player for the 2019/20 campaign. This is slightly higher than Henry’s overall rating of 6.83 for the 2019/20 season.
Additionally, Townsend completed 2.2 tackles and 1.2 interceptions per game in the 2019/20 Championship season, while Henry completed 1.5 tackles and 1.1 interceptions per game during the most recent Championship campaign.
With that in mind, it may be arguable that Townsend enjoyed a more impressive season than Henry last term and if the Baggies do make a move for the Brentford man, then he may not necessarily be guaranteed a place in West Brom’s starting XI.