"Unpopular feelings" - Uros Racic's West Brom future called into question | OneFootball

FLW's West Brom fan pundit has had his say on the future of Uros Racic following the departure of Carlos Corberan.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

West Brom midfielder Uros Racic has not had a successful loan spell at the Hawthorns thus far in 2024/25, despite showing occasional flashes of his quality.

The Serbian international joined the Baggies on a season-long loan from Sassuolo in August, and he's started just nine of the 20 league games he's been involved in since his move.

The Serbian made 22 appearances in Serie A last season but only started eight times as the team suffered relegation to Serie B, which prompted a summer switch to West Brom to compete in Carlos Corberan's midfield.

With Corberan departing the club in recent weeks, it is unclear how much of a role Racic and others will have from here on out with his successor, but the 26-year-old is down the pecking order at present.

Having said that, he has played top-flight football in both Italy and Spain for Sassuolo and Valencia respectively, and his signing looked like a real coup for the Baggies at the time, so the Hawthorns faithful will hope that there may be more to come.

The West Brom verdict on Uros Racic's future

Football League World has asked our West Brom fan pundit Callum Burgess for his verdict on Racic and whether they should look to terminate his loan this month or not.

He said: "I think with Uros Racic that there are unpopular feelings towards him from the Albion fanbase, at the moment.

"Particularly, after his performance against Derby. He didn't really show himself in a great light.

"With [Alex] Mowatt not in the team with a knock, Ousmane Diakite came in against Sheffield United.

"Despite his mistake with the first goal, the general consensus among the fanbase is that he did quite a good job.

"Especially with his ability off the ball and winning the ball back. There are definitely some question marks over his ability with the ball, but, with consistent game time, I think Diakite could be a good midfielder.

"There were signs there, which you might not be able to say those same elements are there with Racic.

"Would you rather be giving Diakite the game time that Albion have been giving Racic recently? I think some fans might feel that Diakite now deserves longer in the team.

"In comparison to Racic, who has not really shown that much since his move here so far.

"I think, if the loan agreement between the two clubs is ended early, then I don't think many Albion fans will be too disappointed to see him go.

"Unfortunately, because he definitely seems like someone who enjoys being at Albion. But whether he has the abilities or not remains to be seen."

West Brom's midfield depth and Uros Racic's role

West Brom have Jayson Molumby, Mowatt and Diakite to choose from at the base of their midfield, so it’s not too surprising that Racic has struggled for form and regular game time.

While he has experience of playing in Serie A and La Liga, it's taken the Serbian midfielder a little bit of time to adjust to the demands of the Championship as well, which was to be expected.

You don't play 70 games for a club like Valencia without being a very talented player, though. That fact alone should see him retained at the club for added depth this winter.

The holding midfielder is also much taller and larger in frame than his midfield competition, thus providing a different solution in some match scenarios and particular fixtures where added height is required.