Carlos Corberan will hope he can rely on his more experienced heads next season to steer another West Bromwich Albion to another attempt at winning promotion, with the likes of Kyle Bartley and more shining last campaign in the Championship.
It would have been a welcome relief to see the ex-Arsenal man put pen to paper on a new contract this summer, therefore, whilst the likes of Alex Mowatt, Jed Wallace and others scattered around the Baggies camp have been there and done that up and down the EFL across their careers to date.
Even more wily heads could be added to the Hawthorns camp soon…
West Brom interested in serial promotion winner
According to football journalist Michael Graham earlier this week, Sunderland were said to in the driver's seat over a deal for former Sheffield United midfielder Oliver Norwood this summer.
It comes after prior reports stated that West Brom are also in the queue to try and snap up the successful free agent.
Norwood has four promotions to the Premier League on his CV from the second tier, with two of those coming during a fruitful patch of his career in South Yorkshire, as West Brom now hope his expertise in moving up to the top flight can rub off the rest of the Baggies ranks.
Slipping up in the play-off semi-finals last campaign to eventual promotion winners Southampton, the Northern Irishman could also fill a gap left behind by Okay Yokuslu's potential departure, with talk centring in on the fact the Turkish midfielder could move back to his native country this off-season.
How Norwood can be West Brom's next Brunt
Norwood could act as a dependable and reliable figure in the centre of the park in a similar fashion to the way former West Brom great Chris Brunt used to operate too, with the now retired star also hailing from Northern Ireland, after going down in the Baggies hall of fame as an esteemed servant to the West Midlands club.
Brunt ended up amassing a ridiculous 421 games in total for West Brom, with his calm and experienced head constantly showing its worth, as he ended up maintaining a starting spot for the majority of his 13 seasons at the Hawthorns.
Norwood was able to be a similar safe figure to rely upon when still playing at Bramall Lane, with 27 games coming his way last season in the Premier League for Chris Wilder's men, despite entering the twilight of his career now at 33 years of age.
23/24
30
1
1
22/23
51
3
5
21/22
49
1
4
20/21
37
0
1
19/20
41
3
1
18/19
44
3
9
Only absent from two Championship games the last two full campaigns he's competed in, Norwood would be a welcome signing if a move can be agreed, with the West Midlands outfit previously in desperate need of measured heads that have won promotion when crashing out of the play-offs, having unfortunately crumbled at St. Mary's in a 3-1 second leg exit.
Brunt also managed to lift West Brom up to the Premier League three times when he was a constant part of the furniture at the Hawthorns, operating in a central midfield spot like Norwood on occasion, but mostly standing out down the flanks for his long-standing employers.
It must have been a sad severing of the ties for Norwood walking away from his fixed home in South Yorkshire this summer, but he could well get one over on his former club if he was to pick up a mind-boggling fifth promotion under Corberan this forthcoming campaign.
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