Nacer Chadli left at home from West Brom’s pre-season tour to Austria after heated row with boss Tony Pulis
Belgian international moved to the Hawthorns from Tottenham last summer for £13million
NACER CHADLI could face a frosty reception from his West Brom teammates when they next meet after dodging Tony Pulis’s notorious pre-season ‘Boot-Camp,’ in Austria.
Baggies £13million record signing failed to fly out with Albion’s squad to Austria on Tuesday following a row with his old-school boss about the trip.
It is alleged Chadli opposed Pulis’s gruelling schedule - which includes 5am starts, twice-daily bike-rides up steep mountains and back-to-back jogs up and down daunting Austrian hills – during an angry exchange on the morning his teammates departed.
Although the pair resolved their differences, Chadli persuaded Pulis to allow him to stay behind to carry out his own rigorous training schedule.
However that is unlikely to go down well with the rest of the Albion squad as they sweat it out in Austria on their tortuous pre-season ritual for the third year under the Welshman.
Chadli is understood to be content with life at Albion and does not appear to be trying to manufacture a move, less than a year after signing a bumper four-year-deal last August.
But the Belgian international will have some work to do to repair his reputation within the Albion dressing-room which is regarded as one of the most tight-knit in the Premier League.
However Pulis will be working hard to ensure their is no ding-dong between his players before Chadli rejoins the squad next week to jet out to Hong Kong for the Premier League Asia Trophy, along with Leicester City, Liverpool and Crystal Palace.
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Although Pulis methods have been ridiculed in the past, Albion lost fewer days to injury last season than any other club despite having the smallest first team squad in the top flight.
However Chadli is known to be set in his ways when it comes to fitness issues.
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He altered his diet at Spurs to cut out virtually all dairy products and believes good performances start in the mind.
"I don't drink a lot of milk or eat a lot of cheese,” he once said. “Maybe once in a while but you need to cut them out.
"I also like to read and also to watch videos about motivation a lot. I’m especially interested in how to improve your mindset as a sportsman.
“We improve the body, with the drinks and the foods, but the mental side is different. You have to improve it yourself and work on it. Everybody needs something different.”