West Brom face ‘big blow’ if Derby County finalise Alex Mowatt agreement | OneFootball

FLW’s West Brom fan pundit has commented on Derby’s interest in midfielder Alex Mowatt.

West Bromwich Albion will be hopeful of a much more positive season unfolding under James Morrison.

The Baggies went on a remarkable turnaround of form under the Albion icon to preserve their Championship status last season, securing a 21st place finish despite wretched runs of form under predecessors Ryan Mason and Eric Ramsay, as well as being deducted two points for controversially breaching the EFL’s P&S rules.

But now with all that behind them, Albion’s focus will be on getting themselves back into the promotion mix and targeting a return to the Premier League, with ownership group Bilkul able to spend a bit more freely now that the worst of their financial restrictions have passed over.

Their flexibility in the transfer window has already been on show, with the Black Country outfit bringing seven new faces to The Hawthorns this summer so far, which include Nolan Galves, Conor Townsend, Carter Pinnington, Felix Horn Myhre, Rabby Nzingoula, Barney Stewart and Jimmy-Jay Morgan.

While all connected with West Brom will want to see what the Baggies continue to bring into the club, there has to be an onus on letting players go as well in order to balance the books.

And that’s what might well happen in the midfield department, with the latest signing of French midfielder Rabby Nzingoula potentially paving the way for Alex Mowatt to depart The Hawthorns, as the midfielder has been linked with a move to Championship rivals Derby County.

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Earlier this week, West Brom bolstered their midfield department even further with the acquisition of Frenchman Rabby Nzingoula from Ligue 1 outfit Strasbourg, a player who was exclusively revealed to be of interest to the Baggies here at FLW.

After securing the midfielder on a three-year contract, the next priority for West Brom could well be to offload one of their midfielders, with the Baggies currently having as many as five options on their books.

In addition to the Frenchman, Albion now have Jayson Molumby, Alex Mowatt, Ousmane Diakite and fellow summer arrival Felix Horn Myhre to choose from, so it wouldn’t be a surprise to see a departure happen before the 1st September deadline.

And the player that could well do so is Alex Mowatt, with The Telegraph’s John Percy claiming that Derby County are in the race for the 31-year-old’s signature this summer.

The report details Mowatt has been a long-term target for Rams boss John Eustace, while the Express & Star’s West Brom reporter Lewis Cox reported in another piece that the Baggies had rejected an opening bid from Derby, although their interest is unlikely to wane.

With this in mind, FLW’s West Brom fan pundit has commented on Derby’s rumoured interest and whether the Baggies should sell or keep hold of Mowatt.

Speaking to Football League World, West Brom fan pundit Callum Burgess believes losing Alex Mowatt to Derby County would be a ‘big blow’ for Albion to take and that the Baggies should prioritise selling Jayson Molumby, who has had previous interest from Wrexham and would generate a bigger fee compared to Mowatt.

Callum told FLW: “There’s a few different angles you can take to look at this.

“One would be that Mowatt’s 31 and in the last year of his contract, so this would be the last opportunity for the club to get any money for him.

“Another would be that he’s a very key midfielder for us, and the role he plays in progressing the ball up the pitch, he’s the most suited midfielder for that, and I think that it would be a big blow for us to lose him, so we definitely need to be braced effectively and quickly.

“I think another way of looking at it is that I’d personally rather keep him for another year as we did sign him on a free transfer from Barnsley anyway, all those years ago.

"While it would be good to get some money for him, I’d rather lose the likes of Molumby if Wrexham did reignite their previous interest in him, where Albion could get more of a transfer fee for him, rather than possibly the £1m-£2m that we’d get for Mowatt.

“You can definitely see why Albion would be willing to let him go, but he’s still got a lot of importance to the team.”

There’s no doubt Alex Mowatt still has a role to play in this West Brom side under James Morrison, with his ability to keep things ticking over in midfield and offer an element of control so important when dealing with the hecticness of a Championship season.

While he isn’t the free-roaming and goal-scoring midfielder he once was, the Baggies still look so more balanced when Mowatt is on the pitch, but he may have to accept that he won’t be a regular starter during the 2026-27 campaign.

There has been a focus on increasing the quality levels in the middle of the park, demonstrated through the arrivals of Rabby Nzingoula and Felix Horn Myhre, while Harry Whitwell looks set to have a chance of making a name for himself in the blue and white stripes.

While Mowatt is an older head in the group now, most of his opportunities are likely to come from the bench to try and see games out, with a new era getting under way at The Hawthorns due to the introduction of so much fresh blood.

So for Mowatt, his future largely depends on what ambitions he has for himself this season.

At Derby, he may well slot into the Rams side on a more regular basis given John Eustace is such a fan of his, but his experience back at The Hawthorns to help younger players coming into the group could be vital to helping the Baggies get back into the promotion mix.

It’s certainly a difficult decision for the former Barnsley man to make, with Albion undoubtedly worse off if he was to wave goodbye to The Hawthorns.