West Brom on the verge of new James Morrison deal

West Brom are on the verge of tying down long-serving midfielder James Morrison with a new contract.

Talks are at an advanced stage with both parties edging closer to an agreement.

It's believed a new contract for the 30-year-old will be announced next week, and it's understood a new deal will significantly improve his current salary.

Morrison is the longest serving current player at the Baggies, having joined Albion from Middlesbrough in August 2007 for £1.5 million.

The Scottish international is out of contract at the end of June and there were rumours he was interested in returning to Boro, who have just been promoted into the Premier League.

Albion offered Morrison an improved deal a few weeks ago, and the midfielder went on holiday with his family to think about it.

Now it seems almost certain he will be staying at The Hawthorns for a tenth season.

Morrison ruptured his hamstring away at Chelsea in January and missed the rest of the season, putting the brakes on contract talks.

But they restarted when he returned to fitness towards the end of the campaign and featured for the under-21s.

Although he didn't play for the first team, The Hawthorns crowd made their feelings felt on the final day of the season when they sang his name during the team's lap of honour.

It's believed Morrison was contemplating moving on for a number of reasons, including the fact he occasionally becomes frustrated with the tactics of head coach Tony Pulis.

But the Welshman is a big fan of the midfielder. The Darlington-born schemer was Pulis's first choice number 10 last season and the Baggies boss has admitted that he missed Morrison's creativity during a disappointing second half of the campaign.