West Brom are reportedly interested in a deal to sign Adam Reach, following his release from Sheffield Wednesday, according to journalist Alan Nixon. 

What's the story?

Reach has been a free-agent since his contract with Sheffield Wednesday reached a conclusion at the end of the 2020/21 season, in what was a frustrating end to his time at Hillsborough.

The Owls were relegated from the Championship, as they finished bottom of the second tier standings after a poor run of results throughout that season.

Reach made 49 appearances in total for Darren Moore's side in that campaign, but wasn't offered a new contract by the club in the summer, as they prepared for life in the third tier of English football.

West Brom reportedly have Reach training with the club, although Blackburn Rovers are also believed to be keen on signing the midfielder this summer.

'Creative outlet'

Reach will be hoping he can make a good impression whilst with the Baggies, as he looks to find himself a new club ahead of the 2021/22 Championship campaign.

The midfielder has a considerable amount of experience in the second tier, but some might feel as though West Brom could do better than signing him this summer.

Valerien Ismael already has some strong options available to him in similar positions, and it wouldn't be foolish to think that the likes of Grady Diangana and Matheus Pereira would be ahead of him in the pecking order in the West Brom's manager's plans at this moment in time.

Pereira in particular is well ahead of Reach, with the Brazilian midfielder chipping in with 12 goals and six assists last season, although his best efforts weren't quite enough to see the Baggies avoid relegation into the Championship.

Pereira also had an average WhoScored rating of 6.96 in the 2020/21 season, whilst Reach only had an average rating of 6.61 from last year's campaign with Sheffield Wednesday, so there is a difference in quality between the pair.

With reported wages of £23k-per-week, the Hawthorns faithful might feel as though there are better options out there for their team as they look to make a swift return to the Premier League this term.

Speaking in an interview with This is Futbol back in April 2021, Football journalist and podcaster George Elek labelled Reach as 'the creative outlet' in the Sheffield Wednesday team last season.

“Reach’s form at the moment has been fairly key for me, he’s not a player that I’ve necessarily always bought into, but he seems to be the creative outlet who’s getting Sheffield Wednesday into the kind of positions they want to be getting in and were probably struggling to under Garry Monk and Tony Pulis."

As the Baggies will be targeting an instant return to the Premier League, a signing of Reach's calibre will be the last thing the supporters want as he was relegated with the Owls last season.