Bruce can land a Livermore heir by signing “outstanding” machine for West Brom - opinion

West Bromwich Albion currently have the third-oldest squad in the Championship in terms of the combined average age of their players.

With an average age of 26.5, only Birmingham City (27.3) and Wigan Athletic (27.3) have older squads according to Transfermarkt.

One figure in Steve Bruce’s squad that is a big reason why the average age is so high is Jake Livermore, who is the club’s oldest outfield player at the age of 32.

Having racked up 196 appearances for the Baggies across all competitions, the midfielder’s current contract at the Hawthorns is set to expire next summer.

With that in mind, the remaining weeks of the current summer transfer window would give the Midlands club the ideal opportunity to sign what could be a long-term heir for the Englishman.

One player that has been mentioned with a move to the Hawthorns that could fit this specific bill is Leicester City midfielder Hamza Choudhury.

The Englishman, who has been praised by Brendan Rodgers for his “outstanding” performances in the past, has 141 appearances for Leicester under his belt across their senior and youth sides.

Having played in 79 league games throughout his career, the midfielder has racked up 69 interceptions and won 34 tackles, which just goes to show how much of a useful defensive-minded midfielder he could be for the Baggies.

To compare that with Livermore, he was able to make 40 interceptions and win 44 tackles last season alone.

This highlights the similarities the pair have and how the £7.5k-per-week midfielder could be seen as West Brom’s next version of Livermore if he joins the Baggies and is able to play regularly.

Even though Bruce has said that whatever incoming deals get done before the window closes are likely to be loans, signing