Pardew to hold talks with Evans over West Brom future
(Reuters) - New West Bromwich Albion manager Alan Pardew is eager to keep defender Jonny Evans at the Premier League club and says he will hold talks with the 29-year-old as soon as possible. Northern Ireland international Evans has been a mainstay in central defence for West Brom since joining from Manchester United in 2015 and has made 12 appearances across all competitions this campaign. Evans' contract expires in 2019 but West Brom rejected bids for the defender in August, including one from league leaders Manchester City, and Pardew is keen to seal the captain's future at the Hawthorns. "I think the assurance I need is probably from Jonny more than anybody and I haven't met him yet," Pardew told reporters on Thursday. "I'm looking forward to seeing him. I think he's a fabulous player and very important for the club so I will have a good old discussion with him." Pardew, who was appointed as Tony Pulis' replacement on Wednesday, also said that he trusts West Brom's technical director Nicky Hammond to make the right decisions in the January transfer window. West Brom are 17th in the league, three points ahead of bottom-side Crystal Palace, whom they host on Saturday. (Reporting by Aditi Prakash in Bengaluru)
