West Bromwich Albion could be set for a January transfer battle in order to retain the services of Darnell Furlong.

What's been said?

That's according to Express & Star journalist Luke Hatfield, who suggested in a recent interview with GIVEMESPORT that a number of Premier League clubs could be monitoring the progress of the West Brom right-back ahead of a potential swoop in the January transfer window.

Speaking about the potential interest in the 26-year-old, Hatfield said: "Premier League clubs, will they be considering him? Maybe they'll be looking at him. There are defensive issues to think about.

"If you're playing him in a four, defensively he maybe lets a little bit too much go. But if you're thinking of an attacking full-back or a wing-back, then he suits that role down to the ground."

Fans would be fuming

Furlong has become an important player for West Brom since his £1.53m move from Queens Park Rangers in 2019, and should the Baggies lose the services of the defender in January, it would undoubtedly enrage fans of the club.

Indeed, over his 15 Championship appearances so far this season, the £4.5m-rated defender has helped his side to keep six clean sheets, registered two assists and created two big chances for his teammates, as well as taking 1.5 shots and making 1.5 key passes per game.

The player who Glenn Murray dubbed an "exceptional" talent has also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, making 1.1 interceptions, 1.4 tackles and 1.7 clearances and winning 7.3 duels per match.

These returns have seen the £15k-per-week right-back average a SofaScore match rating of 7.11, ranking him as Valerien Ismael's joint third-best performer in the Championship.

As such, considering his overall level of performance this season, and that the 26-year-old is the Frenchman's only senior option on the right-hand side of defence, selling Furlong this winter would be a big mistake on West Brom's part - and could well see the Baggies' push for promotion fall short.

In other news: West Brom's £21k-p/w ace who lost 66% duels had a "howler" against Fulham