Fresh contract update looks good news for West Brom ahead of important summer: Opinion

It could be a very interesting summer at The Hawthorns, with West Bromwich Albion looking to make the changes necessary to help them launch a promotion push next season. 

Whether it is Steve Bruce or a new manager at the helm, you’d imagine the club will want to be busy in their attempts to strengthen the squad – both via new signings and departures.

One player whose future still needs to be decided is Andy Carroll, who only signed a short-term deal until the end of the season when he joined in January.

According to journalist Pete O’Rourke, however, there is a good chance that the 33-year-old striker will be offered a new short-term contract to extend his stay with the Baggies.

Based upon what we’ve seen from the former England international during his time with the West Midlands club so far that looks like good news.

Tasked with the unenviable job of filling in for the injured Daryl Dike at time when Albion were really struggling, Carroll may have only bagged one goal in nine appearances, of which six were starts, but he has proven his worth in other ways.

The towering forward has linked up well with his teammates – averaging 0.8 key passes per game (Whoscored) – and has dominated opposition defenders in the air as his average of 6.7 successful aerial duels per game – the second-highest of any Baggies player – illustrates.

The striker is certainly in the twilight of his career and the days may be done when he can shoulder the responsibility of firing a team to promotion but he can certainly still contribute.

His physical attributes mean he is a really useful player for West Brom to have in their squad – both as a game-changer that offers a different avenue of attack and as an option to help reduce Dike’s workload.

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