Darren Moore set for talks with Wes Hoolahan this week

Hoolahan’s short-term contract runs out soon, and the 36-year-old was initially expected to leave the club this month in search of more regular first-team football.

However, he impressed with a man of the match performance in the third round of the FA Cup on Saturday, a performance which has muddied the waters.

A Norwich City legend, the diminutive Irishman spent 10 years in East Anglia and is holding a testimonial at Carrow Road in the summer alongside Russell Martin.

The Canaries visit The Hawthorns this weekend for a crucial match in the Championship promotion race, and Moore will sit down with Hoolahan ahead of that fixture.

“I’m due to speak to his adviser, he’s coming to the end of his contract,” said Moore. “I’ll look at addressing that this week, I’ve just got my head down in the Christmas period because it’s been a busy time.

“This week presents an opportunity to speak to Wes and his adviser and look at the best way going forward.”

Hoolahan’s hunger in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Wigan impressed as much as his creativity, and his deployment as a false nine was a success.

“We saw Wes’s intelligence and touch, his ability to be a nuisance in those pockets of space and getting the team moving from back to front,” said Moore. “The only thing is he blew up about 70 minutes, but his contribution was absolutely first class.

“I know we’ve passed the halfway mark in the league programme but for me, this week gives me an opportunity to lift my head and look at the season so far.

“I’ll be looking at Wes’s contract situation.”

Hoolahan signed for Albion in mid-September, after the Baggies beat Norwich 4-3 at Carrow Road.

But there’s a possibility he could be in the squad this weekend against his former club.

Moore made nine changes for Saturday’s win over Wigan, but he said he was not disrespecting the FA Cup.

“I can understand why people would think that but I don’t want people disrespecting the players because they’re all professionals,” he said. “They’re contracted to the club and have a future at the club.

“To say that of the individuals coming in, think how they must feel to de deemed as secondary.

“It would be wrong to say that. They are highly respected elite sportsmen. In their contracts they play to their best of the ability when asked to.”