West Brom must not be tempted to sell 28-year-old next month: View | OneFootball

When sent out on loan to Middlesbrough in the summer of 2022, Alex Mowatt probably thought that his West Bromwich Albion career was all-but over.

Fast forward a year-and-a-half later though, and his stint as a Baggies player is probably at its peak in the two-and-a-half years he's been on the books at The Hawthorns.

A product of the talented Leeds United academy, Mowatt really thrived at Barnsley under Valerien Ismael in the 2020-21 season, and when the Frenchman made the move from Oakwell to Albion in the summer of 2021, he just had to bring Mowatt with him.

On paper, it looked like a complete bargain of a free transfer - Mowatt and his wand of a left foot had scored eight times and notched seven assists in the Championship that year for Barnsley and he was expected to slot straight into Ismael's Albion side.

It didn't work out as planned though - Mowatt wasn't as effective for West Brom in 2021-22 under Ismael and then Steve Bruce, and after slipping down the pecking order under the latter, he joined forces with Middlesbrough in the middle of August 2022 on a loan deal.

Mowatt ended up being a bit-part player under Michael Carrick eventually though and he was unable to break the central midfield partnership of Jonny Howson and Hayden Hackney, leaving his short-term future in limbo when he returned to Albion this past summer.

With Carlos Corberan not really having the funds to strengthen his squad over the summer though, a chance was given by the Spaniard to Mowatt in pre-season - and he hasn't looked back.

The general consensus was that the pairing of Okay Yokuslu and Jayson Molumby was going to be the undisputed midfield pairing of Corberan going into 2023-24 and it was somewhat unbreakable.

That was true for the first six weeks of action, but Mowatt partnered Molumby against Millwall in a goalless draw in late September, before starting alongside Yokuslu in a resounding 4-0 success away at Preston North End, where the Englishman even got on the scoresheet.

Aside from two substitute appearances, Mowatt has started every match since in the Championship, and it has showed how important Corberan is finding his abilities now he is able to utilise him.

Whilst not as attack-minded as he was at Barnsley, Mowatt is playing a more important deep-lying playmaking role in Corberan's set-up, and he's proving to be a vital part of the furniture at The Hawthorns in what has been a really good turn-around in his career.

West Brom should not cash in on Mowatt despite contract situation

There is the current situation at West Brom though where their owner Guochuan Lai has left the club in the lurch by not providing funding for a while now, which has led to loans been taken out to help the running of the day-to-day operations.

It also led to the sale of Dara O'Shea in the summer to Burnley in a bid to raise funds, and should a takeover not be finalised before the January transfer window, there's a risk of more players leaving Corberan's squad.

An American consortium is leading the way, according to reports, in a bid to be granted exclusivity for takeover talks, but until something is signed and sealed then it is all talk.

And whilst the likes of John Swift and Jed Wallace are likely to attract attention if the vultures can sense that there could be a fire-sale, Mowatt is also in a precarious situation as his contract expires this coming summer.

Low-ball offers therefore may arrive to try and take the 28-year-old from the Baggies, but it's important that West Brom do their utmost to not only keep the midfielder around, but also to tie him down to a new contract when they can.

That may not be able to happen until a takeover is completed, ending Lai's reign of terror on the Midlands club, but Mowatt needs to wait it out - he's proved his worth to West Brom and he will likely get rewarded for that at some point.