Luke Dowling's recent departure from West Brom is a "huge blow", claims Peterborough director of football Barry Fry.

The Midlands club confirmed last month that Dowling, who held the position of sporting and technical director, had mutually agreed to leave The Hawthorns.

According to Football Insider, West Brom are unlikely to appoint a successor as they look to scrap the director of football model and allow new manager Valerien Ismael to work directly with the recruitment team.

For Fry, West Brom losing Dowling, who he feels is not at fault for the Baggies' relegation to the Championship, is a massive setback.

"That's a huge blow," Fry said in an exclusive interview with FFC. "Luke's very good at what he does, recruitment and all that. 

"They're in a bit of a turmoil this year, not entirely his fault. I mean, they didn't do too much when they got promoted, did they, in the market? So they were always going to struggle.

"They were always sort of odds-on favourites from day one to go down, so I don't find that's his fault."

Indeed, it was a difficult season for Dowling, Sam Allardyce and Slaven Bilic, who was, of course, West Brom's manager when the 2020/21 campaign started.

With Ismael now in charge, however, there is reason to be optimistic. The 43-year-old managed to take Barnsley to the play-offs last term, so he does look like a capable coach at this level.