West Bromwich Albion haven’t been shy when it comes to spending money on bringing new players to the club over recent years.
Taking a look into the past, though, it seems that the Midlands club made the mistake of not signing one player in particular when they had the chance, indecision which they will have undoubtedly gone on to regret.
According to former Albion technical director Dan Ashworth, the club were interested in signing Nemanja Matic before he joined Chelsea in 2009.
Ashworth revealed that the Baggies could have signed the Serbian for a cut-price fee of €200k (£170k) but ultimately didn’t.
In the 2009 summer transfer window, the west London club secured the midfielder from Slovakian outfit MFK Kosice in a deal worth £1.5m. The Blues then sold Matic to Portuguese club Benfica in 2011 before re-signing him for £21m in January 2014.
In the summer of 2017, the midfielder made the move to Manchester United in a deal worth a reported £40m.
With 526 senior club appearances under his belt, the 33-year-old – who is currently picking up £120k-per-week according to Salary Sport – has scored 25 goals and delivered 36 assists across all competitions.
The veteran has also won numerous trophies in his career, including three Premier League titles, one FA Cup and one League Cup, all with Chelsea.
Would you liked to have seen West Brom sign Nemanja Matic?
Since the 2017/18 season, the former Stamford Bridge colossus has racked up an average pass completion percentage of 88.2%, along with 198 shot-creating actions, 230 tackles, 207 successful aerial duels and 182 interceptions in the Premier League.
This shows just how impressive the 33-year-old he has been in the English top flight for so many years and highlights the sort of player that the Baggies could have had in their ranks.
Labelled a “top-class professional” by his United boss Ralf Rangnick and a “genius” on the pitch by his former manager Jose Mourinho, Matic would undeniably have been a great signing for West Brom if they were able to get him for the fee that Ashworth mentioned.
Despite the nightmare outcome of missing out on signing the former Chelsea star, Albion will have to put it behind them and focus on the players they currently have in their squad, along with those they want to sign in the summer.
In other news: West Brom can finally land Pereira replacement as Bruce now eyes £6.3m “game changer”
