Former West Brom loanee handed free transfer after suffering freak injury

Former West Bromwich Albion loanee Mbaye Diagne has reportedly been released by Galatasaray after suffering a bizarre but serious injury.

Striker Diagne joined Albion last January as Sam Allardyce tried to bring players to the club to help in the ill-fated fight against relegation and an immediate return to the Championship.

The Senegalese forward scored three goals, in draws with Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers and in the win over Chelsea, but he couldn’t find the net frequently enough to fire the Baggies out of the bottom three.

He was one of four players who were key loanees for Allardyce, along with midfield trio Conor Gallagher, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Okay Yokuslu - the latter who was his neighbour in England.

Diagne had 11 goals to his name for Galatasaray in the first half of last season before arriving at Albion, and he began this season well for the Turkish giants, too.

Just before Christmas, though, Diagne suffered an awkward fall when playing against Istanbul Basaksehir and he was ruled out for months.

Now outlets in Turkey are reporting that Diagne and Galatasaray have parted ways, a little under 18 months ahead of the forward’s contract expiring in the summer of 2023.

Albion, of course, are considering the free agent market in the wake of the appointment of Steve Bruce, who missed the January transfer window. And the possibility of bringing somebody in will come under scrutiny again after Bruce lost captain Jake Livermore to suspension for the next four games.

Forward Diagne, meanwhile, will consider his options - but it appears as though he is still some way of returning to fitness.