Why West Bromwich Albion should have signed Jeremain Lens
According to a report by Birmingham Live, Championship outfit West Bromwich Albion were interested in signing Jeremain Lens in the summer. The attacker, who currently plies his trade for Besiktas, recently made the move to Turkey from Sunderland.
The 30-year-old spent a good majority of his career with the Black Cats and played a key role for them on numerous occasions. However, towards the end of his tenure at Stadium of Light, Lens seemed to be quite low in the pecking order.
Prior to joining Besiktas permanently, Lens spent some time with them on loan and proved to be quite impressive. The former Dynamo Kiev man joined Sunderland back when they were still in the Premier League and since then, a lot of things have changed for the club as well.
After all, they are a League One club now and must fight to get back to the English second tier at all costs. But unfortunately for Lens, he seemed to have no place in the squad.
Although the Dutchman’s career stagnated to a great extent towards the end of his Sunderland tenure, one must admit that he is working wonders in the Turkish top-flight.
In 12 games across competitions so far, Lens has already scored 4 goals and provided a solitary assist, playing an important role in helping Besiktas qualify for the Europa League group stages. And given his skills and experience, West Brom should regret not signing him over the summer.
Granted, the Baggies have gotten their Championship campaign off to a decent start so far. No one can forget their 7-1 hammering of Queens Park Rangers and they have certainly not struggled to goals.
But like we have seen time and again in the Championship, one can never be too sure about success. Even the high-flying Wolverhampton Wanderers struggled to replicate their initial form towards the end of the previous campaign, with exhaustion clearly taking a toll on their players.
They were lucky enough to have bagged enough points to secure promotion but West Brom might not be as lucky. The likes of Harvey Barnes and Matt Phillips have provided creativity and attacking intent but going forward, they might need added cover in the event of unforeseen injuries or fitness concerns.
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Lens might be 30 years of age but he is immensely speedy and his finishing skills are top-notch. West Brom might not realize it now but they could regret not signing him as the season progresses.
