Carlos Corberan impressed with West Brom recruitment chief
Albion head coach Carlos Corberan has talked up Albion’s “very good” recruitment department fronted by Ian Pearce.
The Baggies head into a summer rebuild with financial limitations and Corberan, chief executive Ron Gourlay and head of recruitment Pearce will need to work smart to seal cut-price deals.
Spaniard Corberan, 40, in his first summer at The Hawthorns, insists there can be ‘no holidays in the transfer market’ as he looks to build his own Albion squad in difficult circumstances, with the need to sell or move players on to free up finances.
“I think it’s different, the work of the head coach or the manager and the work of the recruitment,” Corberan explained.
“This club will have the recruitment department, with Ian Pearce at the front of this, and always there cannot be holidays in the market, so the people are always working and you have to work knowing very well the market, to adapt to the scenarios.
“For me, the key in life is to adapt to the different scenarios that you have. It’s more than planning for both scenarios (promotion or not).”
Former defender Pearce, 49, started his post-playing career at Lincoln City before moving to Brighton as a scout in 2014. He took up the Hawthorns head of recruitment role in November 2018 under Darren Moore.
Corberan added: “It’s always important to know the market, to know the market means knowing the players. You need to know the players, the level of them, they (recruitment staff) are people at the club who work very well and very hard.
“When I ask about a player when I see them they always tell me many things about them. We have a very good recruitment department at the club, and this is my honest opinion, but right now I cannot tell you about anything that is not related to the next game that we are going to play.”
Corberan is determined to build a stronger Albion squad than the one he inherited and was able to steer clear of Championship relegation fear, but fell short of a play-off push on the final day.
The head coach has previously spoken of his admiration of Gourlay and Pearce and the trio’s working dynamic.
Corberan endured a difficult first transfer window at The Hawthorns in January. He added free transfer midfielder Nathaniel Chalobah from Fulham and winger Marc Albrighton on loan from Leicester.
Both had played little football for their previous clubs. Chalobah appeared to be finding some form before an ankle setback at Blackpool on April 18 ended his season. Albrighton’s debut was impressive after arriving to cover the injured Matt Phillips but form quickly fell away as the 33-year-old struggled to make an impact.
The window ended in frustration as a loan move for Chelsea youngster Omari Hutchinson broke down due to a hitch with the teen’s parent club.
