West Brom face new concern as Carlos Corberan has a fresh transfer decision to consider

READ: Burton Albion 2-2 West Brom RECAP as Pieters & Phillips score before fresh injury worry

Fresh injury worry

Likely his hamstring, or calf, Reach headed straight down the tunnel. It’s not yet known how serious the prognosis is, but we’ll have to work under the assumption that it’ll be a matter of weeks that Reach is sidelined. With Daryl Dike and Grady Diangana in attendance here, but in the stands watching their teammates in action, Phillips is back in action after a lay-off since January, and Carlos Corberan of course has Jed Wallace to call upon, but with Reach now predicted to join Diangana in becoming unavailable and following the departure of loanee Marc Albrighton, senior wing options right now are pretty thin on the ground.

It’s just as well, then, that for the second time in four days, Tom Fellows made another positive impression when granted an opportunity from half time. Fellows looked smart against League 2 opponents Salford on Wednesday evening and here, against a side at one level higher, he produced an equally eye-catching display.

Albion supporters appreciate his direct approach, clever close control and a turn of pace which can see him burst past a full-back. Fellows only spent five minutes on the left hand side before being relocated following Reach’s withdrawal, and it was on the right where he looked lively and combined well with the classy John Swift.

In an ideal world, if Albion had conducted the lion’s share of their business already in the summer transfer window, they might be able to look for another loan for Fellows, perhaps a level higher than Crawley Town, where he spent last year, and by doing so following Zac Ashworth in heading off to get more experience under his belt. As it stands, he’ll be in the squad for the first Championship game of the season – and it’ll be on merit.

Second chance?

Nathaniel Chalobah is set to remain at Albion for the foreseeable future after his proposed move to Maccabi Haifa collapsed. The midfielder travelled out to Israel this past week to explore the move abroad, having been granted permission by Albion to find a new club, but it’s understood that those talks failed to materialise in a move.

It was a surprise, then, for all when at 2pm and the teams were announced, Chalobah was named among the 12 Baggies substitutes. He duly got 45 minutes under his belt in the second half, playing alongside Jayson Molumby in the middle of the park and operating just behind playmaker Swift.

Chalobah made a couple of decent forward passes, including one for Swift through the line of defence which almost resulted in an opening for striker Mo Faal. Having not played any competitive football since April, when he suffered that season-ending injury at Blackpool, more minutes are expected to come his way next week – although whether he’s preparing for a season at The Hawthorns or elsewhere remains to be seen.

While Dara O’Shea had one spot nailed down last year, his exit this summer leaves chances open to all of the above. Bartley struggled with injuries at times last year, so did Ajayi, while Kipre and Taylor were both playing regular EFL football elsewhere on loan and have, at different points, looked like they might give Corberan some serious food for thought this pre-season.

Based on 90 minutes today, you could see that there was a better understanding between Bartley and Ajayi, although that is natural after their promotion-winning partnership in 2019/20 and the period since in which they’ve played alongside one another. Kipre made errors but also showed moments of quality, while Taylor looks desperate to grasp his chance and make a spot his own. Plenty for Corberan to think about.

How would you line Albion up on day one of the new season, as things stand? Let us know here.