West Brom close to signing another peripheral Liverpool figure
Published:
A chastening opening-day defeat will have alerted West Brom manager Tony Pulis to his squad’s deficiencies and judging by latest reports the Welshman is about to address an area of weakness before the transfer window closes.
Having been omitted from Liverpool’s pre-season tour, a move away from Anfield always looked most likely for Jose Enrique and so it has transpired according to the press on Merseyside.
The Liverpool Echo suggests a deal to take the left-back to the Hawthorns is imminent, hot on the heels of teammate Rickie Lambert making the same switch.
Lambert was blooded immediately by Pulis in the 3-0 loss to Manchester City and although he failed to find the net, the target man fared well on his debut.
It’s conceivable Enrique could be thrown straight into action too, with forward-thinking Chris Brunt playing a slightly unsuited wing-back role against City and the only other specialist left-back on the books seemingly destined for the exit.
Belgian Sebastien Pocognoli appeared to plummet in popularity midway through last season and Pulis often ended up fielding centre-half Joleon Lescott on the left of his backline from January onwards.
Enrique, 29, enjoyed two full seasons as first-choice left-back for the Reds, before an injury-ravaged 2013/14 campaign gave way to another largely anonymous 2014/15 where new signing Alberto Moreno dominated the position.
Now the emergence of teenager Joe Gomez, who started Liverpool’s opening victory at Stoke, has pushed the Spaniard out of all contention under Brendan Rodgers.
When he’s been fully fit Enrique has proved himself to be a tenacious operator who enjoys raiding forward runs as well.
The Hawthorns faithful will be hoping he can give the Baggies better defensive balance in their 2/7-rated quest to stay in the Premier League.
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