West Brom Could Sign £8k-p/w O’Shea Replacement
West Bromwich Albion are finally off the mark with their first signing of the summer transfer window as they ramp up their pre-season preparations ahead of the new Championship campaign.
Who have West Brom signed?
The Baggies confirmed the arrival of winger Jeremy Sarmiento on loan from Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion on Tuesday, providing manager Carlos Corberan with some extra quality out wide.
Albion's only other business this window has seen Dara O'Shea join Burnley in a £7m deal and Karlan Grant join Cardiff City on loan, while Jake Livermore and Tom Rogic were both released at the end of last season.
Corberan recently stated that he intends to make full use of the loan market, as was the case with the signing of Sarmiento, and West Brom could repeat the trick by moving for Aston Villa's Kortney Hause.
According to journalist Darren Witcoop, Albion are among the Championship clubs interested in signing the central defender, who would effectively be brought in as a replacement for O'Shea.
Is Kortney Hause injured?
Hause was hoping to use a spell on loan in the Championship with Watford last season as a chance to kick-start his career, but instead, he made only three appearances due to a knee injury that saw him return to Villa midway through the campaign.
The knee issue now appears to have cleared up and the 28-year-old will hope to join a team where he can play regular football, which will not be the case at Villa Park under Unai Emery.
It would be unfair to use Hause's numbers from last season to gauge exactly what West Brom can expect from him should he arrive at The Hawthorns, given he was on the field for a total of just 191 minutes.
Indeed, you have to go back to the 2019-20 season for the last time Hause played more than seven times in a single campaign. The Englishman played 18 times in the Premier League that season and stood out in a number of areas.
How good is Kortney Hause?
There are plenty of similarities between Hause – who is on wages of £8k-a-week at Villa, according to Capology – that season and O'Shea last season for West Brom, particularly in the defensive metrics.
For example, they registered 2.38 and 2.89 tackles and interceptions combined per 90 minutes respectively, according to FBref, while they won 0.52 and 0.62 tackles per 90.
O'Shea boasts a better pass-completion percentage across those respective seasons (82.9 v 73.6), but Hause comes out on top for aerial duels won (73.9% v 61.3%) and recoveries (6.34 per 90 v 5.57).
Described by Paul Lambert as an "excellent" defender during his time at Wolverhampton Wanderers, it remains to be seen whether Hause can put his injury issues fully behind him and return to those previous levels.
Signing a player with so little action under his belt over the past few seasons would of course be a risk, but considering West Brom's lack of funds, Hause may be as good an option as any to bolster their backline and replace the outgoing O'Shea.