Former England international Andy Hinchcliffe believes it will be entirely down to Slaven Bilic whether he chooses to reintegrate Nathan Ferguson back into the group at West Brom.

The full-back, who has been offered big-money to stay at The Hawthorns, was poised to join Crystal Palace towards the end of the window but an issue with his medical prevented the deal from going through.

Therefore, he is back in the West Midlands but his long-term future is still up in the air.

Albion finalised a deal for Lee Peltier hours before the window shut which means Bilic now has four recognised full-backs as well as Ferguson.

And, speaking on the Sky Sports EFL podcast, Hinchcliffe explained how it will be down to the Croatian to make a quick decision on whether the player will be part of his plans moving forward.

"Slaven’s got to assess his focus, his attitude in training and very quickly his body language will tell you if he’s okay and if he is, he’s a real asset to the team as well.

"Over the next few days you can tell whether a player has got his mind sorted after a big move collapses."

QUIZ: Can you name the season in which these 14 West Brom images were taken?

The verdict

It's going to be very interesting to see what happens here, although the matter could be out of Bilic's hands if Ferguson has surgery on the knee complaint that came up in his medical.

If not, you would imagine those at West Brom would feel let down by the player and bringing him back may send the wrong message.

Yet, there's no points pretending he isn't a very good player at this level and having him involved would make Albion a better team as they look to win promotion.

So, as Hinchcliffe says, it will be down to the manager and he will need to see that Ferguson is committed but the fact he brought in Peltier suggests he's planning for life without the youngster.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.