Bruce can seal dream heir to £42k-p/w WBA ace in 24 y/o who Pep "could not deal with" - opinion

West Bromwich Albion are interested in a deal to bring Sean Longstaff to The Hawthorns in the summer transfer window.

That’s according to a report by Football League World, who claim that, with the Newcastle United central midfielder’s current contract at St. James’ Park set to expire this summer, Steve Bruce is keeping a very close eye on the situation of the 24-year-old ahead of a potential swoop at the end of the season.

However, a recent report by Chronicle Live suggested that the Magpies midfielder is one of four players the club are hoping to tie down to a new deal, with Longstaff’s negotiations believed to have been ongoing for a number of weeks.

While Longstaff is far from a first-team regular at Newcastle, should the 24-year-old indeed become available on a free transfer this summer, he would undoubtedly be a very astute signing for West Brom.

Indeed, with 32-year-old Jake Livermore currently being the club’s only out and out defensive midfielder, while Jayson Molumby will more than likely be heading back to Brighton & Hove Albion following the expiry of his temporary contract at The Hawthorns this summer, it would very much appear as if Bruce will be in need of reinforcements in his Albion midfield ahead of the club’s 2022/23 campaign.

And, while Longstaff has made just 15 Premier League appearances so far this season – only ten of which have come as starts – the £11.7m-rated midfielder has nevertheless returned impressive metrics when called upon, scoring one goal and registering one assist, as well as making an average of 0.5 interceptions, 2.8 tackles, 0.9 clearances and winning 4.7 duels – at a success rate of 50% – per game.

As such, with the £42k-per-week Livermore very much getting towards the twilight