Why West Brom and Aston Villa may never agree with Celtic on ‘top class’ attacker | OneFootball

Scott Sinclair failed to make a strong impact at The Hawthorns and Villa Park

Supporters of West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa do not see eye-to-eye on many occasions.

However, those who frequent The Hawthorns and Villa Park are likely to both share a disagreement with supporters of Scottish Premiership giants, Celtic, when it comes to the viewpoint given over the performances of one-time 'wonderkid', Scott Sinclair.

Despite the Villans currently enjoying plenty of success which has seen them become regulars in European competition under the management of Unai Emery, it wasn't that long ago when the B6 club were on an even keel with their West Midlands neighbours, with both Albion and Villa last in the Premier League alongside each other back in 2020/21.

Rewind a handful of years, and Sinclair would be a hot topic of discussion amongst football-themed conversations in this part of the world, with the left-winger featuring for the Baggies and later on, Villa, during a mixed period for both clubs in the lower reaches of the top-flight table.

It is fair to say that the Bath-born attacker is best known for his days at Swansea City, which provided a strong breakthrough for the remainder of his career after initially coming through the ranks at Bristol Rovers, before moving onto Chelsea in a high-profile transfer back in July 2005.

However, Sinclair was unable to rekindle the strong form which he generated in a successful spell in South Wales by the time he featured for the two local rivals, with Celtic becoming beneficiaries of such a predicament in a roundabout way further down the line.

West Brom and Aston Villa failed to see the best version of Scott Sinclair after Man City agreements

As previously mentioned, Sinclair's strong showings for Swansea - which included a hat-trick in the 2011 Championship play-off final over Reading - eventually secured the forward an £8m switch to Manchester City in August 2012.

However, the former England youth international was unable to force his way into the side at the Etihad Stadium, meaning a loan switch to West Brom under Steve Clarke 12 months down the line, which included an option-to-buy, seemed a shrewd deal for all involved at the time.

Ironically, it wasn't Sinclair's first experience of football in the West Midlands, having featured 14 times for Birmingham City in their promotion-winning 2008/09 campaign.

It is fair to say, though, that his time in B71 remains easily forgetful.

After making his debut in an EFL Cup success over Newport County at The Hawthorns, Sinclair only amassed a further 10 appearances for the Baggies, only three of which came from the starting lineup, with a solitary assist coming against Sunderland in a 3-0 home win.

Injuries plagued his initial impact for Albion, before he featured just twice for the club under Clarke's successor, Pepe Mel, as West Brom finished the season in 17th.

In January 2015, Sinclair would complete an initial loan switch to Villa Park in the final weeks of Paul Lambert's tenure, with the former Celtic midfielder believing he could make a real impact.

"I know the lad from his Swansea days. I know exactly what he can do, he was top, top class in that side," said the Scot.

"It's been a hard move for him going to Man City, but the year he had at Swansea in the Premier League he was outstanding. So he has got it in him, he can be a real good player."

Unfortunately for Lambert, Sinclair's best performances in claret and blue came after he was dismissed. Ironically, he would come back to haunt West Brom too.

After scoring his first goal for Villa against Stoke City, Sinclair netted twice in the FA Cup against Leicester City and the Baggies, as the newly-appointed Tim Sherwood took the club to their first final in the competition for 15 years, although they would lose 4-0 to Arsenal.

The winger then put pen-to-paper on a four-year deal in B6, but was unable to stop Villa's dismal relegation under Sherwood and Remi Garde before joining Celtic on another long-term contract.

Sinclair was then able to put his previous misfortune behind him at Parkhead, reminding everyone of his goalscoring and creative prowess in a hugely successful three-and-a-half year period.

The winger was part of a back-to-back-to-back SPFL title-winning run throughout all of his three full seasons in Glasgow, as well as winning three Scottish Cups, two Scottish League Cups and a plethora of individual awards.

In 167 appearances across all competitions, he scored 62 times and post a further 33 assists, as well as declaring how much he was enjoying his time with the club after a remarkable first season in 2016/17.

This is the best time and the happiest time in my career right now. To have the connection with the fans and all of them who voted for me, it just means so much to me," he said.