Claudio Yacob pledges future to West Brom
Midfielder Claudio Yacob has made his peace with West Brom and has pledged his future to the club, it emerged today.
The 27-year-old Argentinian midfielder attracted interest from Eastern Europe and had a poor pre-season.
He was expected to move on this summer, but has now had a change of heart and put it all behind him ready to focus on the Baggies' cause again.
"Claudio has been fantastic because he came in and said to me he's settled," said head coach Alan Irvine.
"We had a very casual chat and he just said 'I've been unsettled and my head has been unsure what's happening, but now I'm completely focused and I can just get on with being the best I can be'.
"So he knows he's going to be here and he can work in a more settled way.
"It's unsettling for players when there's speculation about whether they're going or not.
"We saw it with Craig Dawson. He was expecting to move and it was only after he realised he wasn't going anywhere that he was able to settle mentally.
"There's so much on the mental side that affects players' performances and 'Daws' wasn't what I knew he could be during pre-season.
"Ever since he got his head around the fact he'd be involved here, he's been what I expected him to be.
"He's been no problem on the training ground and neither has Claudio.
"Claudio has been a perfect professional, but his mind has been wondering whether he's going to be here and that's unsettling.
"They've just had a baby over the summer so I'm guessing he's been going home from here and his wife's been saying 'what's happening, what do I need to do about the baby and where are we going?'
"The mental side of any top-level sport is incredibly important."
Yacob has only had six minutes of Premier League action this season.
But now his future is settled, Irvine is expecting to return to his best form.
"He's a really important player but with the circumstances he probably hasn't showed that," said the boss.
"Now is his opportunity to show it.
"He knows he's not performed at the levels he was able to and he's not made it difficult for me to leave him out.
"Really, with his ability, he should be making it difficult for me to leave him out."
