The Athletic’s West Bromwich Albion reporter Steve Madeley recently answered some readers’ questions in a West Brom ‘mailbag’ article and the journalist responded to one reader’s question about the Baggies’ targets at left-back by discussing Brentford’s Rico Henry.
The Baggies were linked with a move for Wigan Athletic left-back Antonee Robinson this summer. However, Sky Sports recently reported that ‘Sheffield United have had a bid of around £2m accepted’ for the American.
In the recent mailbag article, Madeley answered a question about the Baggies’ interest in Robinson and who else the club could potentially be targeting at left-back. That question read: “Were we seriously looking at Robinson of Wigan? Now that it looks as though Sheffield United have had a bid accepted for him, are there any other names we are more serious about for the left-back spot?”
The Baggies reporter responded to that question by confirming the club’s interest in Robinson, saying: “Antonee Robinson was definitely a target, but as soon as his £2m release clause got activated, it was always likely there would be bigger fish circling. Sheffield United are currently a bigger fish than Albion are.”
The journalist then went on to discuss Henry, which suggests that he may be one of Albion’s other left-back targets, however, he shared some doubt over how likely that transfer is to happen.
Madeley said: “Albion will be keen to add a left-back. Rico Henry at Brentford is an obvious option but his contract is quite long, so the fee might well be too high.”
Do you think that West Brom have a realistic chance of signing Rico Henry?
NO
YES
TIF Thoughts…
Judging by his response to this reader’s question, it appears that West Brom are in the market for a left-back this summer. Robinson had been a target, although now it looks like his future lies at Bramall Lane.
While Madeley does suggest that the Baggies might make a move for Brentford’s £1.8m-rated left-back Henry, the journalist seems to think that the fact that he is under contract with the Bees until the end of June 2023 will make that a difficult deal for the Baggies to pull off.
However, if the left-back position is an area in which Albion intend to strengthen for their return to England’s top-flight next season, then they may have more than just those two names on their potential list of targets and it will be interesting to see the next name that emerges as a potential signing for the club at left-back for next season if it proves impossible for the club to sign Robinson or Henry.