West Brom in pursuit of Newcastle attacker as deadline approaches – report
West Brom are in the hunt to sign Newcastle United winger Christian Atsu as Slaven Bilic eyes more additions to his attack before the 11pm transfer deadline on Friday, according to Football Insider.
Albion completed a deal to sign Callum Robinson on loan from Sheffield United this week and Atsu, 28, has emerged as a new target for Bilic in the final hours of the January transfer window.
Atsu has made 22 appearances in all competitions for Newcastle this season, failing to score in the process but managing to supply four assists.
However he has only started six Premier League fixtures and Valentino Lazaro’s arrival on loan from Inter Milan could push the Ghana international further down the pecking order at St James’ Park.
West Brom need to add more quality to their squad before the end of play on Friday.
Robinson’s arrival seems like a decent bit of a business but Bilic’s attack is desperately out of form at the moment and someone needs to be brought in to provide a spark.
Grady Diangana’s injury and Matheus Pereira’s suspension have not helped matters and Atsu could be a good short-term fix if Albion can sign the ex-Chelsea winger perhaps on loan until the end of the season.
However Atsu barely stood out when he played in the Championship for Newcastle in the 2016/17 season.
He started just 15 times in the second-tier, scored five goals and supplied three assists.
Atsu is a better player now than he was then but those numbers are hardly ones that are going to get West Brom fans excited by his possible arrival at The Hawthorns.
In other West Brom news, Albion are also eyeing up this QPR attacker.