By Kieran Maguire

8th Jan, 2021 | 4:51pm

'It's Classic Big Sam' - Exclusive: Finance Guru slams West Brom claim

West Bromwich Albion will struggle in the world of post-Brexit transfers — but manager Sam Allardyce has no right to complain.

That is according to football finance guru and new Football Insider columnist Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to correspondent Adam Williams after Big Sam’s controversial comments earlier in the week.

The Baggies manager, who was an advocate of Britain’s exit from the European Union, told the Independent: “I’ve found three players already who were capable of coming here and now they’re not allowed. It’s a shame. That has made life more difficult… It’s the change of rules because of Brexit. It’s going to be the hardest window I’ve worked in.”

Asked how Brexit would affect clubs of West Brom’s stature, Maguire told Football Insider: “It’s good news and bad news.

“It’s good news for English players, and it’s probably good news for the elite clubs as well because they can recruit players who’ve got international caps who won’t be an issue in terms of the points system.

“For clubs like West Brom in that lower pool, it’s going to be far more of a challenge for them to recruit players who would have walked into the team under freedom of movement in the EU.

“He was appointed two weeks before Brexit and in the middle of the pandemic, and he’s moaning about both. He must have known that they were in existence prior to his appointment. It’s classic Big Sam diversionary tactics.

“He didn’t mention anything after they drew to Liverpool, did he…?”

With or without legislative red tape, Big Sam faces a difficult challenge in keeping West Bromwich Albion in the Premier League.

Allardyce has never before been relegated from the top-flight as a manager, but the Baggies have just eight points from their opening 17 games.

In other news, an ex-England striker has hailed a West Bromwich Albion move for a 13-years Spurs man as a masterstroke.