It was all go at West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday.
In the blink of an eye, The Hawthorns was suddenly home to two new players ready and waiting to make their make under Carlos Corberan.
First came Gianluca Frabotta.
The 25-year-old left-back joins looking put down his roots and settle for the long-haul, having embarked on five loan spells over the last four seasons. Frabotta, who featured 18 times for Italian giants Juventus, arrives as a replacement for Ipswich Town newbie Conor Townsend.
Then, it was Lewis Dobbin’s turn to announce himself as a West Brom player.
After losing so many talented youngsters to Aston Villa down the years, one finally moves in the other direction. Albeit only on loan.
Only half-a-year after thrashing in a stunner against Chelsea in the Premier League, the former Everton whizzkid is now preparing his first ever season of regular first-team football.
Now, with a left-sided full-back and a striker through the door at the Hawthorns, West Brom are expected to step up their pursuit of a midfielder ahead of Saturday’s Championship opener away to Queens Park Rangers.
West Brom want former Everton kid Isaac Price
According to Belgian reporter Sacha Tavolieri on X, West Brom saw a second bid turned down by Standard Liege for another one-time Everton prospect – Isaac Price – at the start of this month.
Talks are expected to continue, however, about a deal that could set the Midlands outfit back around £1.7 million.
Price, capped twelve times by the Northern Ireland national team, only joined Standard Liege last summer after rejecting the chance to sign a new contract at Goodison Park.
He ended his debut Jupiler League campaign with 25 starts and 39 top-flight appearances in total, scoring once and providing two assists.
Standard coach Ivan Leko clearly feels that Price would benefit from another year in Belgium too, warning the one-time Celtic target against an early return to England.
“He is a player with great potential. Great talent,” Leko tells Walfoot. “He plays a lot for us and I am sure he will continue to improve.
“(But) it is normal not to be at peace in your head when other teams are talking about you.”
“I think he is at the right club and in the right league. It might be better for him to wait six months or a year before leaving.”
Midfielder urged to ignore Baggies interest
Of course, there is no guarantee that Price would find game time quite so forthcoming under Corberan. The West Brom boss currently has Alex Mowatt, Jayson Molumby and John Swift at his disposal, including summer signings Paddy McNair and former Red Bull Salzburg prospect Ousmane Diakite.
The path taken by Price, meanwhile, is one his national team boss would be keen to see repeated by other ambitious young players on the lookout for senior minutes.
Michael O’Neil, speaking to the Belfast Telegraph, feels that the Pontefract-born ace has benefitted in a manner reminiscent of a Dortmund-era Jude Bellingham for broadening his footballing horizons.
“It would be brilliant for our young players to decide, ‘I’m going to Germany at 16 or I’m going to France or Belgium’,” the former Stoke City coach said.
“You’ve got to remember that Jude Bellingham hasn’t played in the Premier League. He took a different route and he’s developed into arguably the best player in the world, or certainly one of the best players in the world in his position.
“So I think there’s a lot of things that young players have to consider now.”
“Isaac took a route perhaps thinking; ‘I’m not going to get the chance to play in the Premier League for Everton. But I’m going to go abroad and build my profile.”
“(Price may be thinking) ‘maybe when I’m 22 or 23 and have played two to three seasons in Belgium at a good level and I’ve got 30 international caps’… maybe then if he wants to come back (to England), he could do that.”
If West Brom get their way, however, Price will be making his return sooner than Michael O’Neil and Standard Liege may have expected.
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