West Brom boss Roberto Di Matteo is set to hold crunch talks with want-away midfielder Robert Koren.

The Slovenia captain was quoted as telling a news agency in his homeland that he plans to leave the club in the new year due a lack of opportunity this season in his favoured central midfield role. He was linked with Fulham in August.

Di Matteo told the club's official website: "When I moved here we had a lot of central midfield players, quite a lot of them with similar ability. That made things more difficult for everybody to get into the team.

"I've had a chat with Roko (Koren) and he wants to play. He is at an age where he doesn't want to be on the bench and he is also the captain of his national team. I understand his frustration and his needs.

"But from my point of view, I also need to have a look at what is the best possible team to win on any given day. I think he is a very good footballer and I wouldn't want to lose him, but we will have to sit down and see what the best solution is for both us and him."