WBA? Sunderland? Norwich? Watford? The potential paths for Ryan Porteous | OneFootball

Hibs centre-back Ryan Porteous is a player in demand ahead of the January transfer window.

The 23-year-old is out of contract in the summer and sources have exclusively informed Football League World that after he turned down a lucrative new contract offer from the Scottish club, he could be on the move next month and that the Championship is a likely destination.

We’ve looked at the pros and cons to examine just that…

Norwich

The Canaries could offer Porteous a potential route to Premier League football, which will surely appeal to him.

They are a yo-yo team and are pushing for promotion back to the top flight again this term while we’ve seen a number of their defenders move to bigger clubs in recent years.

Norwich play an expansive, front-foot style of football that should suit the 23-year-old given his confidence in possession.

They do appear to have a settled centre-back pairing at the moment in Grant Hanley and Andrew Omobamidele but the former is 31 now so Porteous could be signed as his long-term replacement.

Whether that might mean he would be forced to sit on the bench initially remains to be seen.

Sunderland

Sunderland may have just returned to the Championship but they’ve got promotion aspirations of their own in 2022/23.

The Black Cats have been focussing on signing young, up-and-coming players and are building an exciting squad at the moment.

While they may not be as likely to secure promotion as some of the other sides in for Porteous, the prospect of playing for a historic club with a fanbase like the Stadium of Light faithful may be hard to resist.

They splashed the cash on Dan Ballard in the summer and the Hibs defender could be a long-term partner for him but when everyone is fit, would he get in the XI over the 23-year-old and Danny Batth? It’s hard to say.

Carlos Corberan has strung together four wins in a row as West Brom boss to have them climbing up the table and there will be real belief they could emulate Nottingham Forest by making a late dash for promotion.

Even if they don’t, we can expect them to be competing for a place in the Premier League again next term so Porteous may feel moving to The Hawthorns offers him a route to the top flight.

The 23-year-old’s ability in possession makes him an obvious option to carry the ball out of defence, which is something Corberan looks for at least one of his centre-backs to do, while places do look up for grabs in the Baggies backline.

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Watford

Watford are in the top six at the moment and have brought in Slaven Bilic, a past promotion winner, to try and get them back to the Championship.

They’re a club that will be battling to get back to the Premier League in the next few seasons if they don’t do it this term so could certainly appeal.

Bilic is hardly short of defensive options though – with Kortney Hause, Christian Kabasele, Craig Cathcart, William Troost-Ekong, and Francisco Sierralta all capable of playing at centre-back.

That sort of competition and the pace at which the Hornets change managers may put the Scottish defender off.