West Bromwich Albion manager Valerien Ismael will be looking to bring a feel-good factor back to The Hawthorns in the coming weeks by guiding his side to a positive start to the 2021/22 Championship campaign.

Set to kick-off proceedings tomorrow evening with a visit to the Vitality Stadium, the Baggies know that a strong performance against AFC Bournemouth could send out a signal of intent to the rest of the division.

Whereas the likes of Grady Diangana, Karlan Grant and Kyle Bartley could all be in line to feature for West Brom in this particular clash, Matheus Pereira will not be involved.

The attacking midfielder publically revealed earlier this week that he is looking to leave the Baggies following a fruitful two-year spell at The Hawthorns.

After providing 28 direct goal contributions in the Championship during the 2019/20 campaign, Pereira joined West Brom on a permanent deal from Sporting Lisbon for a fee believed to be in the region of £8.25m.

The Brazilian then went on to excel in the Premier League during the previous campaign as he netted 11 goals and chipped in with six assists for his team-mates in 33 appearances.

Heavily linked with a move away from West Brom this summer, Pereira's time in the West Midlands could now be about to reach a crescendo if recent reports are anything to go by.

According to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, the attacking midfielder is set to undergo a medical in Paris today ahead of a move to Saudi Arabian-based outfit Al Hilal.

Whilst it is understood that a deal has yet to be finalised due to the fact that West Brom are checking some of the details surrounding a switch, it is looking increasingly likely that Pereira is set to depart after agreeing personal terms with Al Hilal.

GIVEMESPORT's Joshua Cole says...

Although Pereira's imminent departure is unquestionably a blow for West Brom, there is no reason why they cannot go on to achieve a relative amount of success in the Championship in his absence.

Having already secured the services of Matt Clarke, Alex Mowatt and Adam Reach who all possess a great deal of experience at this level, Ismael could use the money generated from Pereira's sale to bolster his squad once again in the coming weeks.

Providing that the West Brom boss is able to draft in a suitable replacement for the attacking midfielder, it wouldn't be at all surprising if his side make a barnstorming start to the new campaign.

However, a failure to nail his transfer recruitment between now and the end of the month could potentially have a detrimental impact on the club's fortunes.

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