There have been many positives this season for West Bromwich Albion, such as their form in the Championship, but there have been two players in particular who have been considered shrewd pieces of business.
The first is Matheus Pereira, loaned from Sporting CP, whose performances under Slaven Bilić have caught the eye of bigger clubs.
The Brazilian is reportedly one start away from triggering a clause that would allow West Brom to buy him for €9.5m, although when that could happen remains a mystery for the time being.
The second is Filip Krovinović, who also arrived from Portugal on a temporary deal, this time from Benfica, and who has made over 30 appearances in the Championship this season, showcasing why the Baggies decided to take a punt on him this year.
The latest report suggests the player would quite like to stay at the Hawthorns, but the Covid-19 pandemic has put everything on hold.
Their idea would be to exceptionally extend the contracts of every player until the end of their respective season, meaning that if a campaign were to take longer to complete than another, then their deal would be still be valid until the final game was played.
This would therefore allow clubs to finish the year with the same team as the one they had when everything was suspended.
If this is to apply to all contracts, then loans will be included, allowing West Brom a bit more time to a) give Pereira that last start and b) gather the funds needed to buy Krovinović if that is their (and his) wish.
Also, it means that if the Championship season were to run beyond June 30th, both players would be available to Bilić for the remainder of the 2019/20 campaign.
This isn’t guaranteed yet, but it’s something that is being discussed on Thursday by FIFA, so we should know more about it soon.
