Yahoo News West Brom release 14 players and offer 11 new contracts as summer overhaul begins
West Bromwich Albion have announced that they have released seven senior players and seven academy players at the end of their contracts, as their summer transfer window rebuild begins to take shape. The Baggies missed out on promotion at the end of the season having been felled by Southampton in the Championship play-off semi-final over two legs.
The club are going to have to cut their cloth accordingly, as they prepare for a fourth successive campaign in the second tier, and the second without parachute payments. That has meant a series of senior players, mainly those on the fringes of Carlos Corberan's squad, have been made free agents and leave The Hawthorns.
Matt Phillips, who had on Tuesday indicated on social media that his time at the club had come to an end, heads the list; the winger, a Scotland international during his time at the club, spent eight years in the Black Country and went on to make 255 appearances, contributing towards 62 goals. Fellow senior players Nathaniel Chalobah, Yann M'Vila, Adam Reach, Erik Pieters, Martin Kelly and Jovan Malcolm also follow Phillips out of the door.
READ: West Brom players begin to address their futures as contract decisions are made
As well as the first-team, those in the PL2 team are affected; Jamie Andrews, Bradley Foster, Aaron Harper-Bailey, Narel Phillips, Ruben Shakpoke, Cheick Kone and Jenson Sumnall all depart. In all, at least 14 will be leaving Albion this summer, with more potentially to follow depending on whether they accept new deals.
Kyle Bartley, Alex Mowatt and Cedric Kipre have had contract offers put to them. Centre halves Bartley and Kipre were Corberan's first choice pairing for the most part of the season, while Mowatt was a mainstay in midfield, too. It remains to be seen whether any of the trio commit and decide to remain with the club, with much depending on their options elsewhere.
Out of contract academy products have also been offered deals; Reyes Cleary, Ethan Ingram, Ted Cann, Fenton Heard, Evan Humphries, Archie Kirton, Deago Nelson and Adriel Walker have each been offered the chance to remain at the club, while the extra years in the existing deals of Layton Love, Reece Hall and Josh Shaw have been triggered.
Albion have also bid farewell to loan quartet Mikey Johnston, Andreas Weimann, Pipa and Callum Marshall, while they their own loanees Karlan Grant, Caleb Taylor, Zac Ashworth - who could yet leave for Bolton on a permanent basis - Mo Faal and Ronnie Hollingshead.
