Joesph Masi drops worrying claim on £18.5m figure, West Brom fans will be seething - opinion

West Bromwich Albion could struggle to sell a number of their unwanted players in the summer transfer window.

That’s according to a claim made by Joseph Masi, with the Express & Star journalist stating his belief in a recent video that, with Albion having handed out a number of long-term deals earlier this season, Steve Bruce – or whoever West Brom’s manager happens to be this summer – may struggle to revamp the Baggies first-team squad ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

Speaking about Albion’s plans for the summer, Masi said: “The contracts thing is a real worry; Karlan Grant, Callum Robinson, Kyle Bartley, Jake Livermore, Matt Phillips, Darnell Furlong – they’re all on long deals.

“I’m not saying those players all need to leave, but if you want to refresh this group – which, let’s be honest, any manager probably would – they’re all on long-term deals, can Albion offload them? After this season, it’s going to be very, very unlikely.”

Following the 2-0 loss to Swansea City on Monday night, West Brom find themselves languishing down in 13th place in the Championship standings – eight points behind Luton Town in sixth, having played a game more than the Hatters.

Indeed, even the most optimistic of Albion fans would struggle to make a compelling argument that, with 12 league fixtures left to play, West Brom still have a chance of securing promotion back to the Premier League this season.

As such, with the Baggies paying out a reported £18.5m-per-year in salaries, with another year in the second tier looking incredibly likely, this wage bill will undoubtedly need to be trimmed rather dramatically.

However, with Grant earning £20k-per-week until the summer of 2026, Robinson on £18k-per-week until 2025, Bartley earning