West Bromwich Albion manager Steve Bruce has refused to rule out the possibility of the club making a move for Brighton & Hove Albion defender Matt Clarke this summer.

Clarke returned to Brighton in May after spending the 2021/22 campaign at The Hawthorns.

Signed on a temporary basis by the Baggies last year, the defender went on to feature regularly for the club as they experienced a disappointing season in the Championship.

In the 33 league appearances that he made for West Brom, Clarke helped his side claim 14 clean-sheets by delivering some assured performances.

Since joining Brighton from Portsmouth in 2019, the defender has failed to make an appearance for the club in a competitive fixture as he spent two seasons on loan at Derby before linking up with the Baggies.

West Brom have already bolstered their squad in the current transfer window by securing the services of Jed Wallace and John Swift on permanent deals.

Set to face Middlesbrough on July 30th, it will be intriguing to see whether the Baggies are able to recruit some more players in the coming weeks.

Making reference to Clarke, Bruce has revealed that he is not ruling out a move for the 25-year-old.

Speaking to Birmingham Live, Bruce said: "We've got to be respectful to Brighton and what they want.

"They indicated that they wanted to see him [Clarke] in pre-season, to decide on what they wanted to do.

"We're all spinning the plates.

"We've got to respect Brighton to see what they want.

"They're only just back.

"We'll see.

"I'm not ruling that out."

 

 

The Verdict

If Brighton are unwilling to give Clarke the opportunity to impress in the Premier League next season, they may find it beneficial to sell him this summer as his contract is set to expire in 2023.

Providing that the Seagulls are willing to negotiate an exit for the defender, it could be argued that West Brom should be looking into the possibility of signing him on a permanent basis.

During the previous term, Clarke demonstrated that he is more than capable of delivering the goods in the second-tier as he averaged a relatively impressive WhoScored match rating of 6.97 at this level.

Having made 114 Championship appearances in his career, the defender will be confident in his ability to hit the ground running in this division next season if he does seal an exit from Brighton.