Juventus left-back closing in on West Brom move
Albion are closing in on the permanent signing of Juventus left-back Gianluca Frabotta.
The 25-year-old full-back is set for a medical at the Baggies as Carlos Corberan finalises the move for the replacement for Conor Townsend, who departed for Ipswich last week.
The Baggies kick-start their Championship campaign at Queens Park Rangers on Saturday and Frabotta, who has been linked with the Rs this summer, could be part of the visitors' set-up.
As it stands, summer defensive recruit Torbjorn Heggem is the sole senior option at left-back for Corberan and he played in the position during Saturday's 4-1 defeat to Blues.
Heggem was one of Albion's brighter sparks from the final friendly defeat, but the head coach confirmed afterwards the Norwegian is a centre-back by trade and the addition of former Italy youth international Frabotta is likely to free up Heggem to move into the middle of defence.
Frabotta has made 18 senior appearances and scored one goal for Juventus' senior team. Fifteen of those came in the 2020/21 Serie A campaign.
He has two years to run on his Juventus contract though it is believed Frabotta will join the Baggies on a permanent deal, via a free transfer, on a three-year deal.
Since joining the Italian giants in 2019, he has been on five loans away from the Old Lady, two in the top flight at Hallas Verona and Lecce, which brought minimal action, and three Serie B stints with Frosinone, Bari and Cosenza, which brought more regular appearances.
He came through the youth ranks at Bologna, where Albion owner Shilen Patel is a minority shareholder.
No Italian has represented Albion since either side of the turn of the millennium. Enzo Maresca, now Chelsea boss and last season's title-winning head coach with Leicester, checked in from Cagliari in the summer of 1998 and spent 18 months at The Hawthorns, shortly after fellow midfielder Mario Bortolazzi, who played a single season.
Youngster Massimiliano Iezzi came from Roma's youth ranks to Albion's equivalent in 1999, but did not make a league appearance for the Baggies and left two years later.
