West Brom wasted £1.6m on winger, but he's surprisingly still playing top flight football at 36: View | OneFootball

The former Argentina international didn't leave behind too many fond memories at the Hawthorns

The end of the 2014 transfer window brought a relatively unknown quantity in winger Sebastian Blanco to then-Premier League side West Brom from Ukrainian outfit Metalist Kharkiv.

He cost a reported £1.6million at the time, but went on to appear for the Baggies just a handful of times before returning to his native Argentina.

Later in his career, likely to the surprise of some West Brom fans, he went on to build a successful MLS career, meaning there is little doubt that he'll be better remembered on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean.

And it may be even more of a surprise to know after managing to bounce back from his setback in England, Blanco is still operating in the top tier of Argentine football at the age of 36.

Sebastian Blanco looked like a good punt for West Brom in 2014

Blanco moved to Metalist for a substantial €8.7 million fee, as per Transfermarkt, but, drawing parallels to the country's situation a decade on, he had refused to return to Ukraine due to political unrest in the nation at the time.

Moves between the Ukrainian league and England are not an everyday occurrence, even less so when shopping for South American talent there, so it seemed like a shrewd move for West Brom to get Blanco in at a reduced price before any other clubs had picked up on the opportunity.

The club clearly had faith that that the 5ft 6in attacking midfielder could have an impact for years to come, having scored eight times for Metalist in the previous season, signing him up to a two-year deal with the option to extend for a further 12 months.

Sebastian Blanco ended up being a West Brom flop

That would not prove to be the case though, with the winger making just three Premier League appearances for the Baggies, two outings in the League Cup and a showing with the under-21's side, failing to score or assist in any of those games.

And that was it for Blanco's brief West Brom career. The following January, the Argentinian was back on home soil, on loan with San Lorenzo, before making that move permanent in the summer of 2015.

The thought of a pint-sized South American playmaker was exciting on paper for West Brom fans, but he turned out to be anything but that - although it can be argued by some that he wasn't afforded much of a chance by then-manager Alan Irvine.

Sebastian Blanco rebuilt his career in the USA and is surprisingly still playing

Although it turned out to be a relatively forgettable saga for both parties, little was lost by either in the end.

For his permanent switch, the Baggies agreed a deal worth up to £1.5million with San Lorenzo, meaning they may have come relatively close to breaking even despite his disappointing spell at the Hawthorns.

On the player's side, he managed to rebuild his career in Argentina, netting four goals and providing two assists in 29 league appearances the following season.

Having impressed in his homeland, he then earned a move to MLS side Portland Timbers in a $4 million deal, where a career-best in 2018 saw him net 10 goals and lay on 10 assists in 31 league outings, becoming the lynchpin of the Oregon-based side for a number of years.

It was a far cry from the seemingly struggling winger that West Brom splashed on years earlier, a progression that Baggies fans would be forgiven for not expecting.

Blanco's reputation was renewed, and in the twilight of his career, he has been able to return to his native Argentina, re-joining San Lorenzo at the age of 35 earlier this year to see out his career.

Whilst only appearing to be a bit-part player back at one of his beloved clubs, Blanco has registered an assist in a cameo outing against Newell's Old Boys back in July, showing that he still has a touch of his class at the end of his career, in what is a pretty competitive league.

His time at The Hawthorns will be one to forget for all involved but, thankfully, everybody moved away from the situation relatively unscathed.