Exclusive: Phillips warns West Brom as Baggies reportedly ramp up pursuit of £17.9m-rated player
We’re delighted to welcome former West Brom striker Kevin Phillips as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at The Hawthorns…
Kevin Phillips has warned West Brom to be cautious of pursuing players like Fenerbahce striker Vedat Muriqi after the Baggies ramped up their interest in the Kosovo international.
Speaking on VOLE’s Youtube channel, as translated by Sport Witness, Haberturk’s Fenerbahce journalist Serdar Ali Celikler claimed that West Brom have made contact with the Istanbul giants about a potential deal.
It is understood that Fenerbahce want at least £17.9million for 26-year-old Muriqi, who has scored 15 goals and supplied six assists in 28 appearances across all competitions this season.
Although Muriqi’s goalscoring record for Fenerbahce has been impressive this season, ex-Albion striker Phillips has suggested that the vast majority of foreign imports in the Premier League take their time to settle down and adjust.
Muriqi has never played in a major European league, let alone played in England, so Phillips has warned the Baggies to exercise caution when pursuing these types of players.
“I’d be very cautious of going for someone like that because when you’re promoted, you want that player to hit the ground running and score goals early to keep you in the Premier League. It’s very, very difficult for a foreign player to do that straight away,” Phillips told West Brom News when discussing the approach for Muriqi.
“When you look at the stats, it probably takes these players a couple of seasons for them to hit the ground running.”
West Brom have tried their luck with a number of foreign strikers over the years and, generally, most of them end up being flops than being remembered for the right reasons.
Peter Odemwingie is clearly the best overseas striker Albion have signed in the last couple of decades who had never played in England before. Salomon Rondon divided opinion at The Hawthorns but impressed on loan at Newcastle, suggesting Phillips’ theory about a settling-in period is right.
And then you have Brown Ideye, Markus Rosenberg and Thievy Bifouma who many fans wished the club had never signed.
It remains to be seen how Muriqi would perform if he joined a Premier League club ahead of next season but Slaven Bilic, who has previously managed in Turkey, is likely to be well-placed to make a sound judgement.
In other West Brom news, Jimmy Shan has sent a message to this 21-year-old player after he announced he was leaving the Baggies.