By Jemma Tappenden
February 6 2007

January and the hype of possible transfer comings and goings may be long over, but that hasn't stopped the speculaion about possible changes at the Hawthorns being in the pipe line. The transfer window has come and gone, but it hasn’t stopped the talk on new faces and exits from the Hawthorns. After anticipation of a busy period of business, Baggies fans most likely saw less activity than they expected. Rumours of moves for key players such as Nathan Ellington and Zoltan Gera did in the end prove to be just that, despite Ellington coming very close to a move to Wigan.

It hasn’t taken long however for the conversation to flare up again. With news this week that goalkeeper Pascal Zuberbuhler has requested a move, and rumours that John Hartson could also be on his way. Nathan Ellington has also requested that his future be decided one way or the other.

After the arrival of Dean Kiely, Zuberbuhler has requested a transfer from the Hawthorns claiming that boss Tony Mowbray has a personal problem with him. He was dropped from the side that beat Plymouth last Tuesday, despite having kept a clean sheet in the previous game against Wolves. His fall down the pecking order at the Hawthorns has forced his decision to leave. Mowbray has rubbished claims that his problem with Zubi is personal, maintaining that any decisions made were done so purely on the basis of football.

Mowbray commented that:
“You want players to be disappointed when they are not selected and Zubi was disappointed because he kept a clean sheet at Molineux and would have hoped to have kept his place.”
“It is my job to make some tough decisions and I stand or fall by them - but for me there is nothing personal at all.”
“I am not holding him back or denying him a move. He knows the fact we won’t stand in his way but a club needs to inquire about him. Unfortunately for Zubi their have been no inquiries.”

In contrast Nathan Ellington has approached Tony Mowbray this week in an attempt to smooth over his Albion career, despite demonstrating clearly that he was disappointed not to make the move back to Wigan. An agreement was struck that Ellington would not play during the month of January in case injury prevented him from moving. But now that Ellington is staying put till the summer at least, discussions have begun about his role in the club.
Ellington said: “I felt I was going, it’s not happened and I’m still a West Brom player and I’ve got to do my job. If it’s positive we can talk about things, but if it’s not as positive as I’d like then I would probably like to move on at a point to get regular football.”
West Brom were reportedly seeking 2.5 million for the 25 year old striker, but in the end turned down offers in excess of 3 million. Ellington admits that this has unsettled him: “I didn’t understand where they were coming from in the end. I felt they had gone back on their word. I didn’t know what was going on. It was very unsettling.” Ellington believes he still has a role to play at Albion, although has not pushed thoughts of a move from his mind. He has officially handed in a transfer request in the hope that the summer might bring him regular football.