West Brom: Kevin Phillips unhappy with controversial Ahmed Hegazi exit

Former West Bromwich Albion striker Kevin Phillips has given his thoughts on the decision to allow Ahmed Hegazi to leave behind Slaven Bilic’s back.

The 29-year-old defender left The Hawthorns earlier this week for a move to Saudi Premier League side Al Ittihad. Calling time on his three-year spell with the Baggies, Hegazi leaves after making just one appearance in England’s top flight this term.

Despite his lack of playing time, however, his sale has left West Brom manager Bilic frustrated at being left in the cold regarding the transfer. The Croatian has since said that any fallout over the Egyptian defender’s sale is ‘now over‘, but former Baggies striker Phillips has warned of the dangers behind such a decision from club officials.

What has Phillips said regarding Hegazi’s exit?

“If that is the case then it doesn’t make for great reading. Nobody likes to have a player sold behind their back but it happens in football and Bilic is experienced enough to know that this does happen,” Phillips told West Brom News.

“It’s not just happened at West Brom. We’ve seen it at many clubs where players have left when the manager’s not known a lot about it but also players have also been brought into football clubs when you don’t know a lot about them.

“It can cause a rift but I don’t think it will in this case.”

Will Hegazi be missed at The Hawthorns?

Whilst Hegazi did not appear frequently this season, the 59-cap Egypt international made 104 appearances for the Baggies, helping them gain promotion from the Championship to the Premier League over the summer.

With the Baggies struggling at present in the Premier League, Bilic would have wanted to rely on the centre-back after seeing his defenders concede 14 top-flight goals in just six games.

The move, which may come of a surprise to some with the transfer window in Europe being closed, was allowed due to the Saudi Arabian transfer window remaining open until November 6.