West Bromwich Albion is still very much in the running for promotion in the Championship, even though they lost head coach Carlos Corberan to Valencia in December.
Many West Brom fans were worried that Corberan’s abrupt departure would ruin their season, but Tony Mowbray has kept the team’s push for promotion on track since he made an emotional comeback to The Hawthorns in January for a second stint as manager.
Junior Firpo’s opening goal for the Whites was negated by Darnell Furlong’s header in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Leeds United, giving the Baggies an outstanding point and making them just the fourth visiting team to escape loss at Elland Road this season.
Albion is back in action this weekend as they host Queens Park Rangers at The Hawthorns. Currently, they are tied for seventh place in the table with Bristol City and eighth place with Blackburn Rovers.
The Baggies will be totally focused on getting promoted this season because of their high league standing, but if they don’t make it back to the Premier League, they may lose some of their best players, such Josh Maja, who is a striker.
West Brom will be closely monitoring events in Liam Delap and Ipswich Town.
Maja might be sold to a Premier League team if West Brom loses out on promotion, but they might also be cautious of interest from other Championship teams.
There is little indication that Kieran McKenna’s team will be able to mount a late-season bid for survival, and at this moment, an immediate return to the second division is imminent, even though Ipswich is currently just five points from safety in the top flight. Albion would be hesitant to sell to a prospective promotion opponent, therefore relegation might exclude the Tractor Boys from the battle for Maja.
However, the Suffolk team is known to have enormous financial resources, and their budget could be further strengthened by the exit of star striker Liam Delap in the summer.
Delap reportedly paid £20 million to join Ipswich from Manchester City in the summer, but after an incredible season in which he scored 10 goals and provided two assists in 29 games, his value has skyrocketed, and he has recently been linked to teams like Manchester United and Chelsea.
Even if the Tractor Boys were to stay in the Premier League, it would be difficult to hold onto Delap. However, relegation would almost certainly ensure his departure in the summer, and if they are forced to look for a replacement for the highly sought-after 22-year-old, Maja might come back into their sights.
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