No wonder West Bromwich Albion and Blackburn Rovers are already focusing on summer reinforcements now that relegation is out of the question.
Neither club can risk sinking to the bottom of the table for another season, and both desperately need reliable creators if they are to get back into the top half of the Championship.
That’s why the Baggies finally need to replace Matheus Pereira, and why Blackburn are ready to push their Championship rivals to make just that deal this summer.
West Brom have yet to replace Pereira.
In terms of individual talent, West Brom will struggle to find a player as talented as Pereira.
The Brazilian made Championship football look routine and quickly took the Premier League by storm. He is exactly the player a promoted team needs to have a chance of avoiding immediate relegation.
West Brom’s Pereira | |
|---|---|
game | 77 |
the goal | 20 |
assist | 26 |
The Baggies have lacked that quality since Pereira left in 2021. They were seen gradually slipping away from the top six and tumbling towards relegation. The reason they are not a League One team at the moment is solely due to the leadership of manager James Morrison.
Finding a repeat player for the Brazilian should be a priority for almost every Championship club, including Blackburn, this summer. If they can regain the player talent that West Brom once lost, there’s a good chance they could push back into the top-six race.
The big question remains as to who that player is. It may be a big gamble for any club to land the next Pereira.
Earlier this year, Sporting Boom reported that West Brom and Blackburn are still inquiring about signing Dele Alli, who remains a free agent a year after he left Como in Italy.
Why West Brom should bet on Dele Alli
There is no doubting how big a gamble it would be to sign Dele at this stage. The midfielder last started a senior football match in February 2023, when he was loaned to Besiktas from Everton. That was over 3 years ago.
Once a young star who was compared to Steven Gerrard, his image is beginning to fade. The 2026 World Cup alarm, which he admitted to setting up, turned out to be more disturbing than inspiring. But even after so much personal turmoil, pure talent doesn’t evaporate as easily as physical attributes can.
At his best, Dele can be West Brom’s new Pereira. He is certainly a player with similar qualities and shone on the Champions League stage many months ago.
league statistics | Dele 19/20 | Pereira 20/21 |
|---|---|---|
minutes | 1,851 | 2,581 |
the goal | 8 | 11 |
assist | 4 | 6 |
An opportunity has arisen | twenty three | 60 |
Touch the offensive box | 81 | 70 |
The last time Dele was close to his best was in 2019/20. He was involved in 12 goals that season and made 81 decisive touches inside the opposition box. He has been at the heart of all the positive things Tottenham have achieved going forward.
Pereira had a similar impact at West Brom in 20/21. Contributing to 17 goals, the South American player firmly played the role of the team’s talisman, but since then this position has not had the same effect.
It would be easy to fire Dell. He is 30 years old, without a club, and shows no signs of regaining his best form. However, he is a free agent and is free to bet. It’s a win-win situation for West Brom. When he grows up, they will get the jewel. If he fails, it means they did not waste money.
There is still time for the former England international to revive his career. No one thought Tyson Fury would return to the boxing ring. Then he did the unthinkable against Deontay Wilder and became world champion. Now, Dele has made an impossible comeback in the sport.
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