West Brom supporters must be surprised at Nathan Ferguson situation: View | OneFootball

Nathan Ferguson is a free agent after being released by Crystal Palace

The 2019/20 season was a great one for Nathan Ferguson at West Brom as he helped the Baggies win promotion to the Premier League, all while making his first-team breakthrough at The Hawthorns.

The defender looked set to become a star of the future at West Brom, but he turned down the offer of a new contract with his boyhood club, instead opting to join established Premier League side Crystal Palace on a three-year deal.

Of course, regular playing time was always going to be hard to come by initially at Palace, given Ferguson's lack of senior experience and the Eagles' depth in defence, but his time in South London was plagued by injuries, and he was recently released.

This means that Ferguson is currently a free agent, a scenario that not many West Brom supporters would have envisaged four years ago when he completed a deal to move to Selhurst Park.

West Brom supporters must be surprised at Nathan Ferguson's situation

The versatile defender was handed a chance by Slaven Bilic at the beginning of the 2019/20 season, and he took it with both hands, becoming a regular feature in their starting XI during the first half of the season.

Ferguson, who had been at the club since nine years old, looked a top talent, and Baggies' fans would have been confident of keeping him at The Hawthorns for years to come, so his decision to leave for Palace in 2020 was a huge blow.

However, the defender really struggled at Palace, and incredibly, made just one first-team appearance during his four years in South London.

Nobody would have seen that coming four years ago, but Ferguson has been desperately unlucky with injuries.

He missed the entirety of the 2020/21 campaign through injury, and has struggled to string a run of games together for Palace's U23 side, playing just 10 Premier League 2 games during his time at the club.

His one and only game for the club came on Boxing Day in 2021, when he was used from the bench in his side's 3-0 defeat to Tottenham, playing just eight minutes.

His injury problems have persisted, and he played just 100 minutes of football in Premier League 2 last season, understandably being released when his contract expired this summer.

It's been a real shame what has happened to Ferguson since joining Palace, and he looked like a real potential star when he broke through at West Brom. After a difficult couple of years, the 23-year-old is on the lookout for a new club, and he'll be hoping for better luck wherever he ends up.

Nathan Ferguson could be worth a punt for clubs now he's a free agent

Signing a player with Ferguson's injury record would always be a risk, but it could be a risk worth taking for clubs on a short-term deal.

After a torrid few years which has seen him play just eight minutes of senior football since January 2020, surely the 23-year-old would be keen to join a club at any level, even if it's just to build his fitness up and put himself in the shop window.

Clubs will know how promising a player Ferguson was during his time at West Brom, and if a deal was right, there's no reason why clubs wouldn't be tempted to bring him in and see what he was capable of.

After his injury record and lack of games, Ferguson won't be able to command hefty wages, and clubs will realise that if they could get him fit again, they could have a gem on their hands.

Through no fault of his ability, Ferguson's time at Crystal Palace was a miserable one, and a fresh start elsewhere was certainly needed to get his career back on track.

There's still plenty of time for the 23-year-old to put his injury woes behind him and fulfill his potential, and clubs may just be tempted to bring him in over the coming weeks and months.