West Brom announced their retained list yesterday, with a horde of players set to leave the club at the end of next month.
But the bulk of those players are youth players. West Brom are seemingly clearing their decks and starting afresh, but there’s a couple of first-team players leaving in Kean Bryan and Tom Rogic, and the latter player might well be of interest to a few clubs going into the summer transfer window.
Rogic is best known for his 10 year stay at Celtic. The Australian international was a huge favourite at Celtic where he racked up 273 total appearances for the club, scoring 46 goals from midfield.
For the Baggies, Rogic featured 20 times in the Championship, scoring once and assisting three. He certainly didn’t perform as well as he could’ve done, largely owing to him needing time to adapt to the Championship and also to the sheer amount of competition in the West Brom midfield.
But he remains a player in his prime years and for Birmingham City, who will be in need of some midfield reinforcements with Hannibal Mejbri returning to to Manchester United, and the likes of Jobe Bellingham seemingly moving on and Jordan Graham having departed, Rogic could be a shrewd option to bring in on a free transfer.
Another player who could be perfect for Blues is Quevin Castro. The Portuguese youngster promised so much for West Brom and he’s perhaps a surprising inclusion on the club’s release list. He spent time on loan at Notts County in the first half of this seaosn where he featured 14 times in the National League, scoring four goals from midfield before being sent to Gateshead on loan.
At one time, Castro was being linked with the likes of Borussia Dortmund and PSV. But he’s had a tough past year and now finds himself on the free market. At 21 years old he remains a prospect and for Blues, who focus largely on youth production and development now, Castro could be another shrewd signing.
And without stating the obvious, Birmingham City could have an edge if they want to snap up some departing West Brom players, given the location.
John Eustace certainly has some work to do this summer and raiding neighbours West Brom could make for a good start.
