Ex-West Brom man Leon Barnett on 'Championship Man City' and his abrupt career end

Only four sides in West Brom's history have won league Championship honours - and one of those included the Luton Town academy graduate back in 2007/2008.

Arriving for £2.5m from The Hatters that summer - Barnett went on to become a key figure in Tony Mowbray's silky Albion side that went on to win the Championship.

For Barnett, winning the title and representing Albion in the Premier League goes down as one of his career highlights.

But less than seven years later - his playing days came to an abrupt end due to an undiagnosed heart problem.

The 38-year-old, who now runs the Leon Barnett Football Academy, has been reflecting on his time at Albion and his post Hawthorns career during an appearance as a guest on the Express & Star's Baggies Broadcast podcast.

The defender, who went on to play for the likes of Norwich City, Wigan, Bury and Northampton, looked back on the part he played in the Albion Championship winning side - even comparing them to one of the Premier League's best ever sides.

"It was phenomenal, you had the likes of Paul Robinson, you had Kevin Phillips, who for me was so underrated," explained Barnett.

"God knows what he would be worth nowadays.

"Ishmael Miller was a young prodigy from Man City, we had Teixeira, I don't know how they found that sort of player.

"If I was to compare, and people will shoot me down for this, I would say we were like the Man City of the Championship.

"We would score no matter what, so even if we conceded two or three we were so confident we would score more than that.

"And having those players around me made it so much easier for me as a youngster."

Barnett made 36 appearances in all competitions before going on to play a further 11 games following promotion to the Premier League.

However, after the arrival of Roberto Di Matteo his Albion days were numbered and a permanent moved to Norwich City came after a loan spell with the Canaries.

Barnett went on to play for a host of other clubs, before signing for Northampton Town. And this is where the story of his playing career came to an abrupt end.

After complaining of feeling dizzy in a game against Wycombe, the defender went for tests on his heart before returning to the side a few weeks later.

However, the same problem occurred in a league clash with Bury with scans revealing a shocking discovery regarding his heart rate that would bring an end to his playing days.

Barnett explained: "We went to Birmingham to see the specialist against the next day and they asked me a lot of questions, if I was okay.

"And they said my heart had been beating at 300 beats per minute and they couldn't believe it.

"I had a few more referrals and they said they could fit a pacemaker, but after conversations with my family I made the decision to retire.

"I had to look at the bigger picture and retire really."

Barnett's story came before more high profile cases in recent years.

Christian Eriksen collapsed on the pitch for Denmark at Euro 2020, while Luton Town's Tom Lockyer also collapsed twice in a matter of months.

And Barnett added he will always be thankful that he didn't have to go through that scenario.

"It could have been a lot worse," said the ex-Albion man.

"We have seen the guys like Eriksen and Muamba, and there are players that have passed away, and that could have been me.

"I'm thankful they found it before I collapsed in that sense.

"And I'm thankful for the PFA, for guiding me through the steps of retiring, recognising I had a heart condition and coming up with a plan for me, because it could have been a lot worse."

The Leon Barnett episode of the Baggies Broadcast is available on Spotify, Soundcloud & Apple.