Ally Robertson: Time for Nacer Chadli to step up to the plate
I'd love to hear Nacer Chadli come out and say he wants to play for the Albion.
We haven't heard any loyalty from the Belgian in some months now, but now he's nearing a return and the trasnfer window is just around the corner, it'd be great for him to nail his colours to our mast.
Perhaps that's wishful thinking after he fell out with Tony Pulis at the start of the season, but it's a new regime now, and a chance for a fresh start.
He's got to prove himself to Alan Pardew, but also the Baggies fans, who have not yet seen him rediscover that electric form he started with more than 12 months ago.
I don't think he realised how defensive Pulis and the Albion were when he signed.
He's an attacking player, but that creativity was drilled out of him, his chances to get forward were limited.
He has the potential to flourish under Pardew, but he's got to force his way into the side and grab his chance when he gets it.
Hopefully he still wants to stick around, but even if he doesn't, he's got to play well in the next few games to convince clubs he's worth the money, because the Albion board proved in summer that they're not going to let him leave cheaply.
Chadli's future may be unsure, but it's looking increasingly likely that we're going to lose Jonny Evans in January.
If that many of the big clubs are interested in him, surely one of them will match Albion's valuation.
I'd hate to see Evans leave but it'll be hard to stand in his way if one of the Manchester clubs come calling.
If he does go, we have a ready-made replacement in the form of Craig Dawson.
He may have played the best part of three years at right-back, and I would start him at full-back over Allan Nyom, but he's proven himself in the heart of defence before.
And that would free Pardew up to use the Evans money to buy a couple of players further up the pitch, which is the area we need to be focusing on.
The new gaffer may not have had the initial bounce everyone had hoped he would, but he deserves time to turn the form around.
It's difficult coming into a club low on confidence and in desperate form without any of your own players and some of your best creative ones injured.
Now the likes of Chadli, Matt Phillips, and Chris Brunt are returning, things might improve. Add a couple of new faces in January, and we'll start seeing Pardew's plan in action.
