West Brom target ‘in talks’ as Aston Villa starlet ‘explains’ rejecting Baggies

The latest transfer news from West Brom and the rest of the Championship
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West Brom are set to host Huddersfield Town in tomorrow’s Championship clash. The Baggies have won three of their last seven matches and will be looking to pick up consecutive victories that could see them move up to seventh place.

Meanwhile, the Terriers sit six points adrift at the bottom of the table and are looking increasingly likely to drop down to League One a year after competing in the Championship play-off final. Town haven’t featured in the third tier since they won promotion in the 2011-12 season.

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Here are the latest transfer headlines from the Championship...

WBA target ‘in talks’ with Wayne Rooney

Nottingham Forest’s Lewis O’Brien is in talks to join DC United on loan, according to reports. The midfielder looked extremely close to joining West Brom during the January transfer window but the move failed to materialise before the deadline.

O’Brien joined Forest from Huddersfield Town last summer but has failed to earn himself a regular place in their starting line-up, making only six starts in the Premier League. The 24-year-old has now been left out of their squad for the rest of the campaign and is desperate to find regular football elsewhere.

With O’Brien unable to join an English club until the summer transfer window, it is now believed that he is negotiating with Wayne Rooney to join him at DC United, with the MLS season just getting underway. While the campaign doesn’t end in America until November, Football Insider have reported that the deal will include a clause that will allow O’Brien to return to the City Ground in the summer - likely included in the negotiations so he can then make a switch to a Championship club like originally planned.

Aston Villa starlet opens up on loan

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Aston Villa’s Lamare Bogarde has explained why he chose to join Bristol Rovers on loan rather than Norwich City and West Brom. The teenager joined the League One club in January and turned down a move to The Hawthorns.

After signing a long-term contract with Aston Villa in the summer, Bogarde was touted as an exciting prospect and was expected to move to the Championship to gain some first team experience. However, it came as a surprise when he instead opted to join a club only just promoted from League Two.

The Dutchman has now explained his choice after a positive start to his loan spell. As quoted by Bristol World, Bogarde said: “I was just thinking, I’m out on my first loan, what it’s going to be like. I want to show everyone what I can do on a bigger stage. Under-21’s football is nice, but this is real football. This happened in the last hours of deadline day. I was really pleased to be going to Bristol Rovers.

“I wanted to get out, there were a few other clubs. I chose Bristol Rovers, I spoke to the manager before and just wanted to go. I spoke to the manager before, he said what his philosophy was and the way they want to play and what they want for the season.”

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Surprisingly enough, it looks like the youngster made the move to The Gas because of Joey Barton. The former midfielder helped guide Rovers back to the third tier after joining from Fleetwood Town in 2021.

Pompey ‘consider’ permanent swoop for Blackpool star

Portsmouth are mulling over a permanent deal for Blackpool’s Owen Dale this summer. John Mousinho has confirmed their interest after a promising season for the winger.

Dale joined Pompey on loan in August and he has since made 37 appearances in all competitions, scoring once and bagging five assists. With the 24-year-old struggling to make an impact since joining the Seasiders permanently a year ago, Pompey could look to snatch him up in a permanent deal.

Dale will only have a year left on his contract this summer and Blackpool could look to offload him for a decent fee, however they also hold an option to extend his contract by a further 12 months.

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Speaking to the Portsmouth News, Mousinho said: “We’ve talked internally about that as an option this summer. We don’t know what his situation is going to be at Blackpool, but he’s been brilliant for me over my 11 games here.

“It will be a real positive for us if he’s available in the summer, but that’s a bit out of our hands at the moment. It’s certainly one piece of business we’ve earmarked doing if it comes on to the table.”

Blackpool certainly won’t be considering Dale’s departure as of yet as they continue to battle relegation. If they are to drop down to League One then they could see the winger as a valuable asset, while manager Mick McCarthy is set to leave at the end of the season and won’t have any say in Dale’s future.

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