Date: 23rd July 2019 at 11:59am
Written by:

The Express and Star are reporting that West Bromwich Albion are close to signing Queens Park Rangers’ right-back Darnell Furlong for £1.5m. The move will allow current Albion right-back Allan Nyom to complete a permanent move to La Liga, having spent last season on loan there with Leganes.

The move for Furlong will plug the gap at right-back that has become an issue for The Baggies as Craig Dawson, Mason Holgate and Tosin Adarabioyo have left the club.

The Englishman would become the club’s fourth signing this summer, as Slaven Bilic is finally getting the transfers that he had been asking for.

Signing Furlong would be a continuation of what seems to be a new transfer policy from the Baggies. The Championship side have been signing players that are approaching their prime, as shown by the incomings this summer.

Danish striker Kenneth Zohore and Nigerian utility man Semi Ajayi are both 25 years of age, while the talented Filip Krovinovic is 23-years-old. The Rangers right-back fits perfectly with this strategy as he is only 23-years-old himself.

The Midlands club has a host of young players in their first-team squad, with Rekeem Harper, Sam Field and Kyle Edwards all yet to turn 21. While the experience is provided by the older heads of Kieran Gibbs, Kyle Bartley and Chris Brunt.

The summer transfers make it look as if the Baggies are looking to building a squad not only for next season but for a few seasons after too.

I say this because Nyom is 31-years-old, so in a couple of seasons time, he will be past his prime and hold little sell-on value. Whereas Furlong being 23 means he can be a part of the foundation of The Baggies team for years to come alongside the youngsters mentioned above.

Last season Nyom and Furlong both registered a single goal last season, but Nyom managed two assists compared to Furlong’s one.

The pair have similar statistics in terms of defensive output, with Furlong averaging one tackle per game and Nyom 1.4. Average interceptions are identical too, with Nyom averaging 0.9 per game compared to Furlong’s 1.2.

While similarities in statistics do not suggest an improvement on the Cameroonian, you have to take into consideration that Furlong is still young and yet to reach his prime.

There is still a few years before Furlong reaches his peak physically and ability-wise, so selling Nyom for even close to the £3m the club paid for him and signing the QPR right-back for half of that would be an excellent piece of business.

 

Comments are closed.