Slaven Bilic has confirmed that Filip Krovinovic is on his way back to West Brom for a second loan spell.
Albion boss Bilic has been desperate to bring his compatriot back from parent club Benfica since the playmaker helped the club earn promotion back to the Premier League, but the Portuguese side had been digging their heels in over the nature of the deal.
Benfica hoped to tie Albion down to an arrangement which involved them paying Benfica for Krovinovic’s services this summer or next, but Albion don’t wish to be committed to such a financial commitment.
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Instead, it’s understood that Krovinovic will sign a new deal at Benfica and then spend another year - a straight loan - at The Hawthorns.
“You never know, but it will happen in the next couple of days,” Bilic said. “I’ve been told Filip should be here by the end of the weekend.
“I’m expecting him to start training with us after we play Chelsea. I got assured it will be done by the director, and that he will come, but until it’s over the line you can’t guarantee that.
“It looks like everything is sorted with Benfica. It will be another loan deal.”
Meanwhile, Albion’s hunt for a new striker goes on.
Karlan Grant remains high up on their list of transfer targets before October’s transfer deadline, but Huddersfield Town are also holding out for what they believe is the most suitable deal for them.
Terriers boss Carlos Corberan, who has confirmed that Grant will once again be left out of his match-day squad this weekend, understands Grant’s desire to test himself in the Premier League amid that interest from Albion.
Until the window passes, it’s likely that Grant won’t be involved at the John Smith’s Stadium as Corberan focuses solely on the players he knows he’ll have at his disposal for the entire campaign.
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“The situation with him is we were thinking he had options to leave the club because we knew about the interest of some clubs that nowadays are in the Premier League,” Corberan told YorkshireLive.
“At the same time we know the impact he had last year and can understand his ambition to leave the club. I think the understanding of the situation from both parts was very clear.
“From that moment we started to work with just the players we think we are going to have every game.
“He is not involved in the collective work with the team but he continues working to keep his levels just in case the move happens or just in case he can add to the squad if the move doesn’t happen.”
