West Brom manager Roy Hodgson limited to loan signings in January

The Baggies sporting and technical director Dan Ashworth has told the club's manager that he will have to rely on loan signings if he wants to add to his squad in January

14 Nov 2011 23:42:00

By Chris Butterworth JR

More On :  West Bromwich, Ben Foster, Roy Hodgson
Roy Hodgson, West Bromwich Albion (Getty Images)

West Brom manager Roy Hodgson has been told by the board that if he wants to add to his squad in January it will have to be with loan acquisitions only.

The Baggies have decided to keep an eye on their finances and club officials believe short-term loan deals will provide value for money.

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Premier League rules stipulate that clubs are only allowed two domestic long-term loan signings per season, and with Ben Foster already there on loan from Birmingham, it means Hodgson can only secure one more loanee from England.

However the former Liverpool manager has extensive contacts throughout Europe thanks to a long career in various countries.

Sporting and technical director Dan Ashworth told the club’s official website: “It is well documented that we mainly look at the loan market in January.

“There is a feeling within the club that January is not a particularly 'good value' market. Because the period is so short, it's more of a sellers' market than a buyers' market.

"You do, for example, get people running into the last six months of their contract, so we never say never.

“But, historically in January, we have tended to do loans, loans with options to buy or sign people coming up to the end of their contracts.

"Every window gives you an opportunity to strengthen and improve, be it in the short term or long term, and we will perhaps do one or two bits of tinkering in January."

West Brom are hoping to make Ben Foster’s loan into a permanent deal at the end of the season after a few impressive performances, but the terms of his contract may provide a stumbling block.

“The deal with Birmingham is that if they get promoted, there is no availability to buy. So if they come up this season, Ben will definitely be going back," Ashworth added.

"If we're in the same division as Blues next season, it's a moot point. If we're not, we would need - and will take - a goalkeeper.

"Ben has come in and done really well and we would have to consider it."

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Here's Roy Hodgson's reaction to the result and some injury chat: "I'm very pleased, it's been a hard week and we've used a lot of players. There was a lot of disruption in the second-half with substitutions – some forced upon us, some we wanted to do. But it's still a very good end to the week playing against a good Belgian team here. Arguably even stronger than the Norwegian team we played last week and I've got to be more than happy that we've come out with another victory."

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