West Bromwich Albion manager Slaven Bilic has addressed the situation concerning Nathan Ferguson, describing it as "complicated". 

The 19-year-old saw an £8 million move to Premier League side Crystal Palace fall through late in the January transfer window due to a knee issue discovered in the medical.

Ferguson is out of contract in the summer and, according to The Athletic, is highly likely to join Palace at that point.

West Brom CEO Luke Dowling revealed in February that the club believed the teenager would not be signing a new deal at the Hawthorns.

Ferguson had exploratory knee surgery earlier this year and, speaking to speaking to Birmingham Live, Bilic provided an update on his fitness and addressed the situation concerning his future.

He said: "With Jonathan (Leko) and Nathan it’s a bit different but they shouldn’t be too far from being able to come back and train. We will see.

“To be fair, Jonathan and Sam (Field) are Charlton players. With Nathan it is a bit different, it is complicated with his contract situation of course.”

The 19-year-old was handed his senior debut by Bilic at the start of the season and impressed many with his performances during the first few months of the 2019/20 campaign.

Ferguson was a mainstay in the Baggies starting XI during the first half of the season, featuring as both a right and left-back, and he could yet have an impact on their promotion push once the campaign resumes.

Has Matheus Pereira done these 12 things at West Brom? Have a go now!

The Verdict

It's interesting to hear Bilic touch on what is a difficult and likely frustrating situation for the Baggies.

They were set to receive a fairly significant fee for the defender in January and will now have to rely on a tribunal to decide how much they're due.

It's an awkward one for Ferguson as well, who now finds himself back at the club he pushed to leave.

If the 19-year-old gets a chance to help the Baggies secure promotion, he could yet leave the Hawthorns on good terms.