da wazamba： West Bromwich Albion weren’t in action over the weekend as they face Fulham in a bottom-of-the-table clash on Monday evening, though one of their major transfer blunders this summer was fully on show on Saturday afternoon.
da dobrowin： The Baggies were linked with a move for Queens Park Rangers star Bright Osayi-Samuel throughout the summer – according to Joseph Masi at the Express & Star, he was one player Slaven Bilic was closely monitoring.
He saw a £5m move to Belgian outfit Club Brugge fall through and is still yet to sign fresh terms in west London, meaning he’s free to leave the Championship club in the summer.
Well, if any of his interested parties were watching this weekend, then they’ll be wanting to eye him up again this January.
Per SofaScore, the 22-year-old excelled in QPR’s 3-2 win over Cardiff City, picking up a rating of 7.2. He recorded four key passes, four dribbles, two tackles and won eight of 12 duels.
Last season, Osayi-Samuel scored five goals and provided eight assists, and averaged 2.9 dribbles, 1.2 shots and 1.2 key passes per match, via WhoScored.
He’s primarily deployed on the right flank, a position which is perhaps the weakest at the Hawthorns right now – besides the central defensive role.
Matheus Pereira has been forced out there due to the lack of quality options. It’s abundantly clear that Bilic doesn’t trust Matty Phillips, Kamil Grosicki or Kyle Edwards as a starter.
Surely he must rue not swooping for Osayi-Samuel when he was available for such a bargain price. His arrival could have paved the way for Pereira to play in the more prolific number ten position.
Dubbed a “real star of the future” and as someone who “terrifies defenders” and is a “real handful,” Albion appear to have missed out big time, though it is something Luke Dowling can rectify during the winter window.
Don’t let Bilic regret this one for seasons to come.
AND in other news, West Brom must unshackle his £9m “genius” to fully unlock Karlan Grant…