West Bromwich Albion are reportedly in advanced negotiations to sign former France international midfielder Yann M’Vila on a deal until the end of the season, according to French journalist Santi Aouna.
The defensive midfielder has been without a club since the end of last season when he left Olympiacos, having played under current Baggies manager Carlos Corberan during the Spaniard’s brief spell in Greece.
33-year-old M’Vila has a wealth of top-flight experience across Europe, including spells in the Premier League, Ligue 1 and Serie A. The Frenchman has also featured in both the Europa League and Champions League, as well as Euro 2012 in which he reached the quarter-finals with Les Blues.
Starting his career in his native France with Rennes, he has gone on to play for the likes of Rubin Kazan, Inter Milan, Sunderland and Saint-Etienne before joining 47-time Super League Greece champions Olympiacos in 2020.
Described as a key distribution point who was solid at defending the backline, he featured 140 times for the Greek side across three seasons.
M’Vila has played just one season in England across his 16-year career, becoming a mainstay in the 2015/16 Sunderland side that edged out Tyne-Wear rivals Newcastle in beating the drop from the Premier League.
There was hope among Mackems fans that the midfielder would be looking to return to Wearside after publicly stating he would like to help the club return to the Premier League at the end of 2023, but it will be West-Brom that M’Vila will now potentially be looking to guide back into the top-flight.
Writer’s View
If M’Vila were to sign, he would bring a wealth of experience and know-how to a West Brom side that are vying for promotion back to the Premier League, in what will be the club’s third season back in the second tier.
Also, bringing the Frenchman in on a deal until the end of the season is a great move as it allows the club a chance to see the player in action before making a longer-term commitment to the 33-year-old, perhaps evidence that they are learning from some of their previous mistakes.
The manager has already worked with this player so he knows what he is about, what sort of personality he has and how he will fit into the group, further reducing the risk of this potential signing being a failure. Therefore, if this deal were to happen, M’Vila would be a great addition to West Brom.