ALBION have revealed they will not be taking up the options on three players whose contracts run out this summer.

Pele, Carl Hoefkens and Jared Hodgkiss will all be released as the Baggies look to 'evolve and strengthen' their squad for the Championship.

Chairman Jeremy Peace has also confirmed Sherjill MacDonald is set to leave The Hawthorns, while Jay Simpson and Ryan Donk will be returning to Arsenal and AZ Alkmaar respectively following loan spells.

This reduces the Baggies' squad to 25 senior professionals, including loanees Juan Carlos Menseguez, Youssouf Mulumbu and Marc-Antoine Fortuné.

Peace insists the emphasis will be on quality rather than quantity next term, with a senior squad of 20 players and the back-up of the emergency loan market and the club's promising crop of young pros.

Peace said: "Buying players is certainly a possibility but what has proved successful for us over the last few seasons is the strategy of loaning players with an option to buy them - players such as Ishmael Miller, Juan Carlos Menseguez and Youssouf Mulumbu fall into that category.

"It gives them the chance to come in and prove themselves and meanwhile we can see what type of characters they are.

"It can de-risk a longer-term deal and is therefore a good way to go.

"This summer we want to bring people in who can further strengthen the team even though we've gone down a level."

Albion also have their flourishing Academy to call on after the Under-18s produced their highest-ever FA Premier Academy League (Group C) finish by beating Liverpool to third place on goal difference.

Peace added: "We've got some good young players coming through.

"Being in the Championship next season will give some of those younger players the chance to get into the first-team squad maybe sooner than they would have done had we been in the Premier League." 

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