West Bromwich Albion’s Matt Phillips Pens New Deal

Long Serving Player Remains at Hawthornes

West Bromwich Albion’s current longest serving player, Matt Phillips has signed a new contract extension with the club, keeping at the Hawthornes until the summer of 2024. Phillips joined West Brom in 2016 from Queens Park Rangers and has scored 23 goals in 172 appearances in all competitions.

West Brom Manager Sees Phillips as ‘Crucial Asset’

New West Brom manager Valerian Ismael sees Phillips as being a key player for his team as he looks to take the club back to the Premier League following last season’s relegation, when Sam Allardyce failed to keep them up.

The fact that Phillips can play in a number of positions across the front line particularly appeals to Ismael who told the official club website: “We have a front three – our ‘7’, ‘9’ and ‘11’ – and Matt can play all three positions. We have some players in the squad who are able to play many positions, and Matt is one of those players. He showed us early in pre-season that even the ‘9’ position is a position for him, I believe.”

Ismael also praised Phillips’ professionalism and Willingness to learn how to be a better player, saying: “He is very intelligent in terms of reflecting well, and he comes all the time to us for more videos, more information and how to solve problems. It shows, simply, his professionalism. This is exactly what we need. The right player, with the right mentality and with quality.”

Ismael explained that mentality in a player is more important than age, and that when you are professional like Phillips you can be the example for those around you: “If you are 18 or 30 it doesn’t matter, as long as you have the right mentality, the right focus and the desire on the pitch. I think that Matt is the perfect example for our way.”