Martin Albrechtsen quits with swipe at West Bromwich Albion

Jul 1 2008

MARTIN Albrechtsen aimed a parting shot at Albion after bringing an end to his four-year stay and signing for Championship side Derby County.

The 28-year-old, like Zoltan Gera before him, declined the offer of a contract and walked away on a free transfer, spurning Premier League football .

He is clearly rankled contract talks did not progress swiftly enough.

“I don’t want to sound bitter because I have had four good years at the club, but towards the end I didn’t know what to expect from West Brom,’’ he said.

“I think they have been slow negotiators. There has been too much uncertainty.”

Albrechtsen admitted the decision to walk away from the Premier League was a tough call.

“I had some heavy thoughts before saying ‘yes’ to Derby but I can feel the confidence from Paul Jewell, who I find to be a very good manager,’’ he said.

Albrechtsen conceded he was likely to play second fiddle at Albion next term with Tony Mowbray believed to be eyeing Sheffield Wednesday’s teenage centre-back Mark Beevers.

Beevers, still only 18, was a shining light for the Owls last season and picked up their Player of the Year award.

He will not come cheap with early indications Wednesday would want at least as much as the £3million they received from Albion for Chris Brunt.

“The chances of getting playing time will be better at Derby than at Albion who will be bringing in new players,’’ Albrechtsen added.

The Dane’s departure will not be felt too badly by supporters but there is now more pressure on chairman Jeremy Peace to make sure the third free-agent, Kevin Phillips, does not follow suit.

Further talks with the striker are expected before the players return to training on Thursday.

Albrechtsen signed for Albion from FC Copenhagen in June 2004 and went on to make 138 appearances, scoring four times. Mowbray has thanked the player for his services.

He said: “The era of Bosman means the incentives offered by clubs to out-of-contract players are often decisive in whether a player stays or leaves.

“I’d like to thank Martin for his contribution last season and wish him all the best in his new challenge.

“We will continue to push forward in our bid to find new faces to strengthen the squad for the season ahead,” he added.

Meanwhile, Baggies midfielder Kim Do-heon and Manchester United’s Park Ji-sung and have been left out of South Korea’s preliminary squad for the Olympic Games.

It means Do-heon will be available for Albion’s hectic start to the season.

Korea Republic have been grouped with Italy, Honduras and Cameroon in Group D of the tournament which runs from August 6 to 23.

Do-heon would have also been missing for the entire pre-season with Korea playing three warm-up matches against Guatemala on July 16, Ivory Coast on July 27 and Australia four days later.