Gareth McAuley could be a key figure for a West Bromwich Albion side facing relegation to the Championship but it seems the Baggies won’t keep him.
Gareth McAuley may be 38 now but he proved last season that he has still got it.
The veteran centre-back was in superb form as West Bromwich Albion finished in the top half of the Premier League under Tony Pulis, starting 36 out of a possible 38 domestic fixtures and also notching six goals at the other end.
So reports in the Birmingham Mail that McAuley is unlikely to be offered a new contract when his current deal expires at the end of this season may not be the smartest decision.
Yes, the long-serving fan favourite has been phased out this season, starting only five Premier League games with Jonny Evans and Ahmed Hegazi established as the first-choice centre-back partnership, but he still has plenty to offer both on and off pitch, even if he does turn 39 before the end of the year.
McAuley is a player of great experience who leads by example. Is it any coincidence that West Brom, who are bottom of the Premier League and ten points from safety, have fallen apart in his absence?
So even if he could not manage 90 minutes every three or four days in the hectic Championship fixture schedule, it seems odd to let him go when the club is in dire straits and in need of some leadership.
McAuley has a great deal of experience in the second tier after all, making almost 200 Championship appearances for Leicester City and Ipswich before he moved to The Hawthorns in 2011, and West Brom will be short at the back once Evans leaves this summer.
And, as McAuley proved last season, age is just a number.
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