West Bromwich Albion FC

• Nickname:
• Founded:1878
• Manager:Roy Hodgson

• Ground:
• Capacity:NaN

Baggies show four the door

22 May 2009 - 10:35:22

Click To Enlarge

West Bromwich Albion have already started shaping their squad for life in the Championship next season after revealing that four players will be released.

Pedro Miguel Pele, Carl Hoefkens and Jared Hodgkiss will all leave The Hawthorns when their contracts expire next month.

Meanwhile, striker Sherjill MacDonald will also be free to find another club despite still being under contract.

All four players have been fringe members of Tony Mowbray's squad this season.

Loanees Jay Simpson and Ryan Donk will also be on their way back to Arsenal and AZ Alkmaar respectively at the end of the season.

Chairman Jeremy Peace told the club's official website: "Buying players is certainly a possibility but what has proved successful for us over the last few seasons is the strategy of loaning players with an option to buy them - players such as Ishmael Miller, Juan Carlos Menseguez and Youssouf Mulumbu fall into that category.

"It gives them the chance to come in and prove themselves and meanwhile we can see what type of characters they are.

"It can de-risk a longer-term deal and is therefore a good way to go. This summer we want to bring people in who can further strengthen the team even though we've gone down a level.

"We've got some good young players coming through.

"Being in the Championship next season will give some of those younger players the chance to get into the first-team squad maybe sooner than they would have done had we been in the Premier League."