Slaven Bilic’s Championship leaders West Bromwich Albion have stormed into first place without Chris Brunt and Gareth Barry this season.
Veteran duo Chris Brunt and Gareth Barry are entering their final few months at West Bromwich Albion, according to the Birmingham Mail, with The Baggies unlikely to extend a pair of contracts which will expire in the summer.
Between them, two ageing midfielders have made over 450 appearances for the Midland giants but it seems that their time at the Hawthorns is coming to an end.
35-year-old Brunt, West Brom’s influential captain, has played just 38 minutes of Championship football this season with the likes of Matheus Pereira overtaking him in Slaven Bilic’s pecking order.
The Northern Irishman, who joined The Baggies 13 years ago from Sheffield Wednesday, was close to reuniting with Michael O’Neill at Stoke City in January but saw a winter move to the Bet365 Stadium fall through, the Birmingham Mail adds.
Barry, too, has found game-time hard to come by. The former Aston Villa, Manchester City and Everton star will turn 38 later this month but has just one league start to his name since Bilic arrived at the Hawthorns.
It remains to be seen whether the Premier League’s all-time appearance maker will retire at the end of the season, or if another club is willing to hand him a fresh start as he approaches his fifth decade.
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