Bar some sort of minor miracle, West Brom will be plying their trade in the Championship next season and the club, hopefully, will have begun putting together a contingency plan for life in the second tier of English football.
Once the inevitable has been confirmed, it will without a doubt lead to a major overhaul of the playing staff come the summer.
There has been a lot of talk recently among the Albion faithful as to who we would like to see retained and who should be moved on. Taking this into consideration, I thought I would list the players that I feel the club should strive to keep hold of if we are to make any serious attempt at an immediate return to the top flight.
The likes of Nacer Chadli, Kieran Gibbs, Jonny Evans and Salomon Rondon will almost definitely try and move on in order to remain in the Premier League and it would be very difficult to convince them to stay for a season of Championship football.
Baring this in mind, the five players I have listed, I feel, could be convinced to at least stick with the club for one more season, which would, in turn, provide a solid foundation to build a new team around for whoever is in charge.
Ben Foster
Craig Dawson
With Jonny Evans almost certain to leave in the summer, a huge gaping hole in the centre of defence will obviously need filling. However, the club don’t need to look very far. Craig Dawson has played at right back for the vast majority of his time at the club, due to him doing such a stellar job when asked to fill in there. However, it’s common knowledge that his preferred position is in the centre of defence and I have no doubt that, as soon as he’s had a run of games in the position, he would go on to become a key player for the team.
Chris Brunt
Another season where Chris Brunt has proven that he is still very much a key player for this club. A stat doing the rounds mid-way through the season was that, since 2014/15, Brunt had more assists than Eden Hazard had in the same period of time! A pretty incredible stat considering he’s been playing in a team that has struggled in front of goal for some time now. His wand of a left foot is still as deadly as it was when he first arrived at club and would undoubtedly be a useful weapon to retain for life in the Championship.
Matt Phillips
Like so many this season, Phillips hasn’t got anywhere near the level of performance we all know he is capable of. Under Tony Pulis last season, he was simply unplayable at times and arguably our best attacking performer over the course of the season. However, for whatever reason, he has been a shadow of that player this campaign and is blatantly low on confidence. If he can recapture the form and confidence that saw him excel under Pulis, he would undoubtedly be a force to be reckoned with in the Championship.
Jay Rodriguez
Under the circumstances, I think Rodriguez has done pretty well in his first season at the club. Ten goals in all competitions isn’t the best return but you have to bear in mind that he has been played out of position for the majority of the time under both Pulis and Alan Pardew. As stated already, I don’t think Rondon will remain with the club if we were to go down, which then leaves the door open for Rodriguez to lead the line. I personally think, if the club could convince him to stay, he has the ability to score goals for fun in the Championship.