Former Hull City loan man Toby Collyer says he chose West Brom over Hull City as switching to the Baggies would offer him the best chance to develop.
The former Manchester United midfielder played for both clubs last season having spent the first half of the campaign at The Hawthorns before moving in January to the Tigers.
Collyer made just four appearances during his loan spell at City, with his only start coming against Coventry City on Easter Monday. He caught the eye against the Sky Blues, with City boss Sergej Jakirovic believing that the performance showed the potential of the player.
Unfortunately, an injury ended his season, and he didn’t play again for the rest of the promotion-winning campaign as doubts were raised as to whether the Tigers would make a move for him in the summer. Jakirovic had seen enough to convince him Collyer would be a useful addition and City were prepared to meet Manchester United’s £3m asking price, however, with bigger priorities the Tigers cooled their interest somewhat and when speaking to Collyer could not offer any sort of assurances surrounding his role within he squad.
Read more: The 1904 Club announces Hull City live podcast event to celebrate Premier League return
As fellow long-time admirers, that opened the door for West Brom to pounce.
“When I evaluated everything, I pinpointed this place as the best place for me to develop, to take my game to the next level – in terms of everything, the building, the coaching staff, the lads, Collyer told the Express & Star newspaper.
“I think it’s a group sort of aspect when you look at it, you don’t look at one thing or another – look at everything and I felt this place was the best place for me to make the next step for myself and obviously wanting to come back here to such a great club with great coaching staff and lads. I really believe in this club, I believe in the ideas and everything to do with it so it was a no-brainer for me.
“To be perfectly honest the first instance I actually spoke to Mozza briefly after (the game) when I came back here with Hull City. He just said ‘if I get the job I’ll look to bring you back’. That was the initial interaction. After that I just stayed in contact over the summer, saw how things emerged and it went from there.”
Collyer has had a slow start to the season so far after his injury last term, starting just once against Queen Park Rangers and playing off the bench in the derby game with Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Here at Hull Live, we are dedicated to bringing you the best Hull City coverage and analysis. Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group.
You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe. You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.