Broom made available as JFH ponders
JIMMY Floyd Hasselbaink was due to speak to all of his players yesterday with the announcement of the club’s retained list expected by the end of the week at the latest.
Clubs are very varied in the timing of their retained lists, some being released more than a week ago with games still to be played.
Supporters’ ears pricked up yesterday when Peterborough United, newly promoted to the Championship, released theirs and Burton Albion loanee Ryan Broom was listed as available for transfer.
Broom made three starts and eight appearances from the bench in his four months on loan.
He was quiet in early starts, although it was easy to see that he had something to offer.
He then came into his own with point-saving goals in two late substitute appearances, against Plymouth Argyle and Gillingham, games in which he was also assigned to set-piece taking duties.
Many supporters have been impressed and would be happy to see the 24-year-old Welshman back at the Pirelli Stadium.
Whether Hasselbaink saw enough to be interested in involving Broom further and how keen Peterborough are to remove him from their wage bill will be key factors.
Having started his career with Bristol Rovers, Broom had non-league loans with Taunton Town, Bath City and Eastleigh before joining Cheltenham Town, where his career started to move forward.
After playing 48 matches in his first season, Broom added 40 more in his second, scoring eight goals, and was player of the season and players’ player of the season as they lost to Newport County in the League Two play-off semi-finals.
That attracted Peterborough’s attention and he moved to London Road on a three-year deal for an undisclosed fee, thought to be around £300,000, last summer.
However, he found it hard to break into their promotion-chasing team, making eight starts and 10 substitute appearances in the first half of the season before joining Burton on loan in January.
Posh boss Darren Ferguson admitted he had signed Broom before knowing that Sammy Szmodics, a similar style of forward who had been on loan with them, would be available for transfer from Bristol City,
Szmodics signed and, when Broom left on loan, Ferguson admitted: “He would say he’s not had a fair crack of the whip and I would have to agree with him. I haven’t managed to get the best out of him.”
With wealthy Posh now likely to strengthen for the Championship,
Broom’s future lies elsewhere. It will be interesting to see whether that future might be with the Brewers.