Aston Villa transfer announcement poised as West Brom issue £10m hint

Aston Villa winger Lewis Dobbin has been recalled from his loan at West Brom after failing to make the desired impact at The Hawthorns, Birmingham World understands.

Dobbin was meant to spend the entire season with Albion but his minutes have been very limited. Just one start - away at Preston in November - and 16 brief substitute appearances have given Villa very little choice but to cut the loan short.

Villa signed Dobbin from Everton in the summer for £10 million - and Tim Iroegbunam moved in the other direction for a similar fee - but the 21-year-old is not in Unai Emery’s immediate plans. As brutal as it sounds, the deal was only done to ease both clubs’ concerns of breaching the Premier League’s profit and sustainability regulations (PSR).

As Dobbin didn’t make a competitive appearance for Villa before heading to West Brom, he can be loaned to another club for the rest of the season. That’s the plan of action as it stands but it’s not yet known if any potential suitors have made contact with Villa.

One thing that’s for sure, Dobbin’s loan at West Brom will not continue. Albion’s team sheet for their New Year’s Day clash with Preston North End suggests as much, too, with Dobbin’s name completely absent. It’s a shame it never worked out as the former England Under-19 international definitely has some potential to unlock.

West Brom not short of attacking options despite Dobbin exit

Albion shouldn’t suffer a great deal by losing Dobbin as there’s still decent depth in attacking and wide areas, dependent of course on avoiding injuries. As the Villa man’s involvement was so minuscule anyway, it won’t make much difference to how the Baggies were operating beforehand.

Josh Maja often leads the line with Karlan Grant either alongside or out wide, while the likes of Tom Fellows, Mikey Johnston, Grady Diangana, Jed Wallace and John Swift are all available for the other attacking roles. Signing a new defender in the January transfer window is more of a priority than replacing Dobbin.