West Brom urged to re-sign £16m star as free agent, Birmingham City in dilemma over loan player

West Bromwich Albion have been urged to re-sign attacking midfielder Matheus Pereira after his contract was reportedly terminated by Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal. The Brazilian, who left the Hawthorns just two years ago for a fee in the region of £16 million, is now said to be a free agent and could be up for grabs this January.

Having played just 32% of the minutes available to him in the Saudi Pro League this season, Al-Hilal decided Pereira’s days in blue were numbered. Egyptian journalist Abedlhamed Galal claims a number of clubs in Brazil are interested in signing the 26-year-old, including Botafogo, Flamengo, Cruzeiro, Corinthians and Palmeiras.

Although there have been no concrete links over a potential return to West Brom, supporters have urged the Baggies to consider a move. After all, the player himself did hint at coming back just a few months ago, as he replied to a fan on Twitter: “I still have three years in Saudi, me and my wife enjoy there... soon we want [to] come back! I love u guys.”

Now, some of the Hawthorns faithful have taken to the social media platform to discuss Pereira’s current situation. One said: “deal until the end of the season and then re-assess dependent on the league. Pereira gets us promoted,” whereas another wrote: “you know it makes sense.”

The Baggies are currently in quite a predicament financially, so the player would likely have to take a hefty pay cut to make the move work. He was a fan favourite, though, and he seemed to love his time in West Bromwich, so there could be something in it. Carlos Corberan’s side are also on a charge for promotion, so that could tempt Pereira.

Meanwhile, Birmingham City have a loan dilemma

In other West Midlands football news, West Brom’s local rivals Birmingham City have a bit of a loan dilemma. Having recalled Marcel Oakley from his spell at Scottish Championship side Arbroath, John Eustace is unsure on what the next step should be for the young right-back.

“I am going to have a good look at Marcel,” Eustace told BirminghamLive. “He has had a really good, positive loan in Scotland, we got fantastic reports back so we are going to have a look at him over the next or so then it’s something we will decide closer to the end of January.”

If Oakley is to depart in January, he cannot play a single minute for Blues as that would mean he had already featured for the maximum of two British clubs in one season. Eustace, therefore, cannot give Oakley a go to assess the situation. The head coach must make the decision based on his time at Arbroath - and training sessions - alone.