Opinion: Why West Brom can’t rely on a loanee in this position and should target 33-year-old instead

West Bromwich Albion boss Steve Bruce has admitted he wants to take a look at the loan market in an attempt to lure some of the best Premier League clubs’ brightest prospects to The Hawthorns this summer, speaking to the Express and Star.

And you can’t exactly blame him for playing the waiting game either, especially after making some good additions already with the likes of John Swift, Jed Wallace and yesterday’s arrival Okay Yoksulu putting them in contention to be fighting for promotion next season.

With these players in their starting lineup, they now have a first 11 that will be in the top six if they perform up to expectations and with this, they are just in need of more depth now.

At this stage, there are two areas where more options are desperately needed: their left-back spot and their forward department.

The latter is in a slightly different shape though, with the likes of Karlan Grant and Callum Robinson able to play there if needed and Kenneth Zohore seemingly being given another chance to impress in the Midlands.

Unfortunately, they don’t have the same options at left-back, even with Taylor Gardner-Hickman potentially able to switch sides and Zac Ashworth emerging as a potential first-team option for Bruce.

Gardner-Hickman could easily start over Darnell Furlong on the right-hand side during the upcoming campaign though and it could be argued Ashworth would benefit from a loan spell elsewhere so he can play more regularly.

Regardless of whether the latter stays or goes, a more experienced option is needed in this area to provide Conor Townsend with competition for his spot, something that will help to maximise the 29-year-old’s performance levels.

A top-flight loanee could potentially arrive with Leeds