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By Lyall Thomas

Last Updated: 27/07/19 11:38am

Romaine Sawyers has left Brentford and joined Sky Bet Championship rivals West Bromwich Albion. A £3m fee was agreed for the transfer and Romaine underwent a medical yesterday, Friday 26 July. The final paperwork to complete the move was submitted this morning and Romaine leaves Brentford after three years at the Club.
It is a return home for Romaine, who started out at West Brom and spent his career in the area before joining The Bees. He came through the youth ranks at West Brom and turned professional while they were in the Premier League. But he made his name at Walsall, spending three years with The Saddlers after a loan spell in 2013.

Romaine joined The Bees in July 2016 when his Walsall contract expired. He soon established himself in the centre of the Brentford midfield and scored his first goal for The Bees in the win over Queens Park Rangers in October 2016. Romaine scored three goals in 45 games in all competitions in his first season in West London and added five more in 44 games the following year.
Romaine was named Brentford captain when Thomas Frank took over as Head Coach last year. He played 46 games in a slightly deeper midfield role and contributed seven assists. He leaves The Bees having played 135 games in all competitions and scored eight goals.
Phil Giles, Brentford FC Co-Director of Football, said: “Romaine has been fantastic for us during his time at Brentford but, like with Daniel Bentley earlier in the summer, he only had a year to go on his current contract and he had a great offer from West Brom. It therefore made sense to sell Romaine now and look to re-invest the proceeds. We are working on bringing more new players to the Club during the final weeks of the transfer window.”
Thomas Frank said: “Romaine has been with us for three years and has improved year on year. He was always great on the ball but has added to his game defensively in his time with us. He has also grown off the pitch and was a very important leader for us last season.
“I would like to wish Romaine all the best for the future. I have really enjoyed working with him and, more importantly, I have enjoyed talking to him. He is a great reader of the game and he and I were able to have some interesting tactical conversations. I am sure Romaine will succeed at West Brom and I am also sure that we have a great collection of midfield players still at the Club who will be able to help us progress this season.”