West Brom are under threat of losing an “extraordinary” player in the summer transfer window, following rumoured contact between a European club and his camp.
Mason proud ahead of West Brom bow
The Baggies get their Championship season off and running on Saturday afternoon, with Blackburn Rovers making the trip to the Hawthorns. It will be a special occasion for Ryan Mason, who will take charge of his first game as West Brom manager, and the Englishman has spoken of his “pride” ahead of the match.
“Pride is probably the first word that comes to mind when I think about standing in the home dugout for the first time. The feeling of pride has been the overwhelming feeling since I was appointed.
“I think that’s a natural feeling because of the history of the club, the size of the club and the fanbase that it has. Once that emotion goes, I have a job to do and I need to do that as best as possible.“I’m determined to do that with the coaching staff and the players and we want to try and build something that creates a positive energy and get as many results as possible.”
There is still likely to be incoming and outgoing transfer business before the summer transfer window closes on September 1st, and a new update has emerged regarding a current West Brom player.
West Brom at risk of losing "extraordinary" ace
According to TuttoBolognaWeb [via Sport Witness], Bologna are in contact with West Brom defender Torbjorn Heggem’s agent over a summer move to the club, with a £5.1m bid already rejected.
The report states that the Baggies’ stance may have softened, with the club potentially being open to selling the 26-year-old for around £8.6m before the end of the window, a figure the Italian club can meet.
West Brom would surely prefer Heggem to stay put this summer, considering he started 45 out of his side’s 46 Championship matches last season, averaging 5.4 clearances and 2.4 aerial duel wins per match in the competition.
Meanwhile, former Baggies manager Carlos Corberan admired the Norwegian greatly during his time working with him, outlining his quality as a player.
“His level of attention has been extraordinary from first moment. He arrived to pre-season without a holiday period. Probably [that] helped him to have more of the tempo. His mentality has been excellent, his open mind to take every single idea, and after his skills to move everything to the pitch.”
Appearances
45
Starts
45
Minutes played
4014
Clearances per game
5.4
Aerial duel wins per game
2.4
Tackles per game
1.6
Pass completion rate
88.3%
Goals
1
Assists
2
That said, the update does hint that West Brom are potentially willing to sell Heggem this summer, so if Bologna come in with a bigger bid for him, it will be interesting to see if they accept it.
