Blues striker Ali Al-Hamadi is close to joining Championship West Brom on loan.

The 22-year-old has been Town’s third-choice frontman this season but his only starts came in the cup ties against his former club AFC Wimbledon and Bristol Rovers.

In the summer, the Iraqi international was close to signing for Derby on loan but the move didn’t happen after Town pulled out of the deal to sign Armando Broja on loan from Chelsea.

A loan to a Championship club during January has always looked on the cards with the Blues known to want to bring in a more senior frontman during this window.

It’s understood Al-Hamadi is at West Brom to undergo a medical and complete the formalities on his switch.

Iraq-born, Liverpool raised Al-Hamadi joined Town for around £1 million from AFC Wimbledon in January last year and has made three starts - one in the league - and 24 sub appearances, scoring five times. His only goal this season came in the Carabao Cup tie against his old club at Plough Lane in August.

Ali looks set to become Tony Mowbray’s first signing after returning to the Hawthorns.

The one-time Wycombe frontman’s departure would free-up a space in Town’s 25-man Premier League squad, which has to be resubmitted shortly after the transfer window closes at 11pm on Monday 3rd February.

Elsewhere, former Blues striker Tyreece Simpson, 22, has joined League Two Colchester United on loan for the rest of the season from Stevenage.

Photo: Matchday Images

oioihardy added 10:46 - Jan 21 Good luck to him ! Wish him the best hope he gets his confidence back
25

melbs_itfc added 10:53 - Jan 21 Nice that he will be working underTony too, after his recent appointment. .
22

StringerBell added 10:54 - Jan 21 A good move for him and he gets to play under a Town legend. So good to see Mogga back and looking well.
23

Gforce added 10:56 - Jan 21 New striker signing must be close,if Ali is going out.
22

Fermi_Parradox added 10:57 - Jan 21 I'm guessing we are only interested in this deal if we have another striker lined up? I'll keep refreshing. But best of lucky to Ali, I hope he comes good, as he is one of my favourites. So much passion.
20

gkroon89 added 11:05 - Jan 21 Good luck to him. Might get some down votes, but think he will need a massive 2nd half to season in the Championship. Not sure he is good enough for the Championship unfortunately either. Hope I can be proved wrong.
16

itfc2024 added 11:10 - Jan 21 best of luck to him but I'm afraid he won't be any good at premier or championship level let's hope he proves me wrong it was a panick buy from the club which hasn't paid off he always look tired after 5 mins on the pitch he ain't a goal threat would be best to sell him
0

cressi added 11:12 - Jan 21 Wasn't a panic buy. We was not at the level we are now good luck to him.
10

jayceee added 11:13 - Jan 21 Great that it's only a loan as expected. Can see him playing an important role for us one day.
4

Gforce added 11:19 - Jan 21 This also shows just how far we've come as a club,when clubs with the stature of West Brom and Middlesbrough are loaning our fringe players. Only 2 years ago, we were probably loaning there's. !!
17

blues1 added 11:21 - Jan 21 Jaycee. Sorry, bit unless,we go back to lge1, he'll never be good enough for us. And I've defended him to my mates, and hoped I'd be proven right. But his performance and total lack of effort when he came on v Fulham away, has convinced me hes simply not good enough. A pity , as I'd have loved him to succeed.
6

tetchris added 11:24 - Jan 21 Striker incoming ?
7

cookra added 11:26 - Jan 21 todalooo
1

DerryfromBury added 11:30 - Jan 21 Just what he needs, no player likes to sit on the bench week in and week out. You can train as much as you like but its no substitute for match day. I wish him well and look forward to seeing grace the pitch at PR in the future, scoring freely like he once did for Wimbledon FC. All the best Ali and enjoy your time working under Mogga,
10

carlgibbs13 added 11:35 - Jan 21 Lets be fair, we brought him with the intention of nurturing him to be a back up striker for our second year in the Championship, which obviously never happened. The Premier League is way out of his reach, and hopefully sometime back in the second tier will do him good. If he gets plenty of game time and makes an impression, we can look at selling him onto a championship team next season. If we get relegated, then he will have had a bit more game time in preparation for next season. Win Win for all parties.

9

jayceee added 11:38 - Jan 21 blues1 - you could very well be right. All I know is McKenna bought him as a prospect in the championship - good enough for me! I've seen one or two flashes of potential, and while it's true that the club have outgrown him currently, does not mean he can't eventually catch up. A handful of goals at WBA in the Championship will put him back on track imo.
2

guentchev123 added 11:39 - Jan 21 Good news. No reason why he can’t potentially have a decent loan spell in the Championship, with a fresh start / clean slate. This move would surely mean that we are freeing up a space in the squad for an incoming signing, probably a striker. I can’t believe that we would go down to just two strikers for the remainder of the season. Unlikely to be a “big name” as they will likely be behind Delap & Hirst. The only exception is possibly Latte Lath ? Wanted to come here in the summer and we have a history of going back in for previous targets ?

3

Bazza8564 added 11:41 - Jan 21 Guentchev, YES absolutely spot on, theres no way this would be happening without an incoming. Watch this space i guess
2

gkroon89 added 12:04 - Jan 21 I read somewhere the other day that Lathe to (I think Atalanta) was on the cards as a bid had been accepted.
1

silkcutblue added 12:05 - Jan 21 Another positive will be no more stupid comments from Iraqis everywhere complaining he's not playing they can now annoy the west brom supporters
7

tractorboybig added 12:05 - Jan 21 getting him ready for our championship challenge next season
3

Alphawhiskey added 12:36 - Jan 21 Best of luck Ali, go grab some confidence and experience. Also, nice to see Tyreece Simpson on the way up..........
3

wedgieblue added 12:44 - Jan 21 Good move for all. Perhaps a spell playing will enable him to ‘hit a cows behind with a banjo’ as he can’t at the moment…..!
1

poet added 12:45 - Jan 21 One or two posters on here dubious as to whether he will be good enough at Championship level. They may be right, but I believe he’s a player who struggles to impress through lack of match practice. Coming on for a few minutes here and there, won’t produce the best in him. His rise to being a Premier League player must have been a surprise to him, he couldn’t have been prepared for the sheer intensity, it happened all far too quickly. If this is confirmed, it will certainly be a make or break period in his career. If things go well for him, he may well prove a few people wrong, but then the next climb to the Premier League may always be too steep for him. Time will tell.

4

runningout added 12:48 - Jan 21 hope Ali does the business for West Brom
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