Bruce can finally axe “stupid” £16k-p/w WBA dud with "fantastic" £11.7m-rated “talent” - opinion

West Brom have shown over the years that they are capable of spending money on new players during the summer and winter transfer windows, the most recent being on striker Daryl Dike from Orlando City for a fee of over £7m in January.

Only a few weeks after the recent January transfer window closed, the Midlands club were mentioned with a potential transfer deal for Newcastle United midfielder Sean Longstaff, who has been previously dubbed as a “fantastic talent” by Michael Carrick, when the next summer window opens.

If the Baggies do end up launching a move to sign the Englishman at the end of the season, not only would this give them a fairly young midfield option that has experience of playing in the Premier League, but it could also give the club the opportunity to finally get rid of one of their current figures that may be better off leaving the Hawthorns.

With a total of 184 appearances across all competitions under his belt for the Baggies, Jake Livermore has undoubtedly been a prominent figure at West Brom since his arrival back in the 2017 January transfer window.

However, the 32-year-old’s performances in the Championship this season have suggested that he may not be cut out to play at a high level for his side anymore, with WhoScored giving him an overall rating of 6.49 making him one of the lowest-rated outfield players still in the squad to have started more than one league game in this current campaign.

In addition to this, the fact that the Englishman, who is currently picking up a weekly wage of £16k-per-week according to Salary Sport, has racked up a rather substantial total of 35 yellow cards and five red cards during his time with the Baggies does paint him as a bit of a liability on the pitch.

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