With strikes from Josh Sargeant and Jonathan Rowe, the Baggies fell behind the Canaries 2-0 at Carrow Road, severely hurting their chances of making the Championship playoffs.
With the victory, they moved up to eighth place in the standings, two points behind the top six and just four behind West Brom, who are still in fifth place and have had their postseason breathing room cut short.
Carlos Corberan’s team had numerous opportunities to pull themselves back into the match, but their lack of ruthlessness and poor attacking performance without Tom Fellows cost them.
On Saturday, January 13, Corberan made the unexpected choice to start Reach in the 4-1 victory over Blackburn Rovers. He stuck with his decision at Carrow Road, but it didn’t work out as the 30-year-old showed he might not have the legs necessary to give the Baggies what they need in their playoff chase.
On December 31, Darren Witcoop, a journalist for the Sunday Mirror, revealed on his personal Twitter account that Martin Kelly and Reach might be traded during the January transfer window.
Although it’s thought that both players may go in January, West Brom would prefer to add players to their roster than lose players.
It’s no secret that West Brom is currently facing severe financial difficulties due to a number of factors, including the completion of their Premier League parachute payments.
In spite of this, the team was still able to sign Bristol City forward Andreas Weimann on a short-term loan, and his outstanding cameo against Norwich may cause Reach to drop back down the rankings once more.
Reach and Kelly, two of Corberan’s more experienced players, have both struggled with injuries and fitness concerns in the last year, and given their limited playing time and opportunities, it’s possible that their time with the team is coming to an end.
In his 45 minutes on the pitch against Norwich, Reach was nowhere to be found. He only touched the ball 21 times, failed to attempt a single cross or long ball, and lost 33% of his duels. Reach was also dribbled past twice [SofaScore], getting a rough ride from Norwich right-back Jack Stacey and the hot-shot Jonathan Rowe.
Reach and Kelly may currently be enjoying hefty salary contracts, therefore it would make financial sense for West Brom to let go of both players to clear up salary cap space.
Reach may have to clear his Hawthorns locker since the January transfer window is about to close in a few days.
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