Bargain £5.5m West Brom signing will go down in Baggies folklore: View | OneFootball

West Brom are preparing for another campaign in the Championship after suffering play-off heartbreak last week.

The Baggies were one of the most consistent performers in the second tier throughout this season, cementing their place in the top six from the early stages.

Despite a few wobbles, Carlos Corberan’s men secured their place in the play-offs, and by finishing in fifth place meant they faced Southampton in a two-legged affair.

But it wasn’t meant to be, as the Midlands side was unable to get past the Saints, and that means they remain in the Championship.

And as we head into the summer, Corberan has already made some key decisions regarding his playing squad next season, with them announcing that winger Matt Phillips will be leaving when his contract expires.

Matt Phillips to leave West Brom after eight-year stint

As mentioned, West Brom’s season has now come to an end after being beaten by Southampton last weekend.

And the Baggies have started to put plans in place for the 2024/25 campaign, and in doing so, they have announced their retained list.

The Baggies are looking to keep around some of their more experienced players, but one who is definitely departing is winger Matt Phillips.

The 33-year-old has been with the club since 2016, when he joined for a fee of £5.5 million from Queens Park Rangers.

Phillips signed a new three-year contract in 2021, but with that now expiring at the end of next month, West Brom have decided to let the winger leave the club.

Over the last eight years, Phillips has proven to be an excellent addition for the Midlands outfit, and there is no doubt he will go down in the club’s history books.

Matt Phillips’ time at West Brom will be fondly remembered

West Brom signed Phillips in the summer of 2016 after having had three impressive seasons with QPR and, before that, two seasons at Blackpool.

At the time, the Baggies paid a hefty fee to sign Phillips, as they secured his signing by paying the R's £5.5 million.

A deal that at the time may have been seen as risky or fans voicing their concerns, but eight years on and his signing was something that turned out to be great for the football club.

During his time at The Hawthorns, Phillips played in the Premier League and Championship, maintaining somewhat of a level of consistency.

He leaves the club having played 255 times for them, during which he scored 31 goals and recorded 31 assists, showing that he did enjoy his time with West Brom.

The 2023/24 season wasn’t as productive for the 33-year-old, as he only scored three goals and chipped in with three assists, as he played just 26 league games. Injuries did plague the winger’s campaign, as he missed a large chunk of the season, while he didn’t feature in either play-off game despite being on the bench.

So, Phillips' final campaign ended in a sour taste, but he will still be remembered fondly by the club and its supporters, as he did have some great moments.

One of his more productive seasons was the 2019/20 campaign, a season in which he scored seven goals and recorded five assists in 39 league games as West Brom secured promotion to the Premier League.

In that season, Phillips started 30 of the 39 games he featured in, playing a key role on the right flank in Slaven Bilic's side that made it back to the top flight of English football.

That 2019/20 season was one to remember for the player, the club, and the fans, and there were a few other seasons that could be labelled similar. But like many other football players, they also had seasons that will be forgotten.

But overall, Phillips was a great success with West Brom; it is just a shame he couldn’t play for the club in the Premier League more times, and he didn’t finish his last season by securing promotion back to the top flight.