According to a recent report from The Birmingham Mail, West Brom are interested in a January move for defender Ciaran Clark. The 29-year-old currently plays his football at Premier League outfit Newcastle United and has done so since leaving Aston Villa back in 2016, although a lack of regular game time recently under Rafa Benitez has called his future at the club into question.

And reports suggest that Darren Moore’s Baggies are eyeing up a move for the £5.4 million-rated ace (as per Transfermarkt), a deal which may well provide the West Brom manager with the missing piece of his promotion-winning jigsaw.

The Breakdown

Ultimately, the Midlands outfit have made a fine start to the Championship season following their relegation from the top-flight last time round, with Moore’s men sat fifth in the second tier table having won ten of their opening 21 league matches.

And while their tally of 44 goals scored is the highest of any other side in the division, their tally of 30 goals against is more than any other team currently sat in the top six - they have kept just one clean sheet so far this season, and that came all the way back in September against Millwall, 12 games ago.

Thus, while the Baggies are having no problems at one end of the pitch, one senses that they are going to have to tighten up at the back if they are to mount a serious promotion push as the campaign wears on - Clark could be the answer to their troubles.

The 29-year-old made the move to Newcastle little over two years ago in a bid to aid them with their Championship promotion challenge, and he did just that by appearing 34 times in the second tier for Benitez’s side as they went on to win the title - clearly, he played a key part in their rise back to the Premier League.

And with plenty of top-flight experience under his belt, alongside the know-how in getting the job done in the Championship having done so with the Magpies, the Republic of Ireland international could prove to be a huge asset to manager Moore both off the pitch and indeed on it.

Yes, his availability has become slightly more uncertain given he started for Newcastle in their 2-1 defeat to Wolves at the weekend, but with the other options at Benitez’s disposal in that position, one would expect Clark to be down the pecking order as the season wears on.

And with West Brom clearly in need of defensive reinforcements to maintain their promotion challenge in 2019, Moore must seek to lure what could be the missing piece in the Baggies’ jigsaw to the Hawthorns in January.

West Brom fans… what do you think? Let us know!