Roy Hodgson has reiterated that he is confident of keeping striker Peter Odemwingie at West Brom.
Hodgson believes striker will sign new contract
Roy Hodgson has reiterated that he is confident of keeping striker Peter Odemwingie at West Brom.
Odemwingie was the Baggies' leading scorer with 15 goals last season and has been the subject of speculation linking him with a move away from The Hawthorns.
But Hodgson has seen positive signs from Odemwingie since returning for pre-season training that suggest he will be happy to stay.
Negotiations have begun over a new contract and the manager believes an agreement will be reached that satisfies the 29-year-old.
Hodgson said: "Peter has been excellent in training this week. He sails through the training when everyone else is fighting hard to do the work. He seems to do it with relative ease.
"He seems very satisfied, very happy, so I presume the contract discussions are going okay.
"Don't forget, he does have a contract with the club. These discussions are to maybe prolong it and reward him for what he did last season.
Happy bunny
"It's not as if he is out of contract but I'm confident the chairman (Jeremy Peace) and Dan Ashworth (technical director) will reach an agreement with him.
"I shall work on the basis he is a happy bunny and a West Brom player until that fateful day when someone tells me he isn't."
Hodgson added that he did not have a problem with transfer talk about his players as it showed they were doing a good job.
He explained: "I think we should be pleased our players attract interest.
"If we are going to improve as a team, we need players in our team that other clubs envy and would like to have.
"That for me is a sign your club is moving forward, when the players you have got are being envied."
