Report – West Brom plot swoop for 28y/o, player told he can leave club this week
West Brom are interested in signing Stoke City forward Tom Ince, according to TEAMtalk.
The Baggies are keen to bolster their attacking options ahead of the transfer window closing next week, and have identified the 28-year-old as one potential target.
Ince has fallen out of favour for the Potters, and has yet to feature in any of their opening three Championship matches so far this term.
It is understood that manager Michael O’Neill has told the player that he is free to leave the club on loan in the coming days.
Old Firm pair Rangers and Celtic are also understood to be keeping tabs on the player, but Albion believe that the lure of Premier League football could be enough to ensure that they win the race for the attacker, who can play either out wide or through the middle.
Truthfully, we’re not too keen on the idea of signing Ince.
First and foremost, it’s worth pointing out that a Premier League club cannot register more than two players on loan at any one time.
With Filip Krovinovic rejoining yesterday, and with Connor Gallagher already on the books, that means that any deal for the Stoke man would have to be a permanent one.
If that is the case, would he really be the attacking addition we need to keep us in the top flight?
Objectively, there’s nothing wrong with signing a player from the Championship.
After all, Slaven Bilic’s other striking priority remains Karlan Grant, and plies his trade for Huddersfield Town.
But do we really want to be pinning our hopes on a player who can’t even force his way into a distinctly average Stoke City side? Surely not.
Ince managed just three goals and two assists in 40 outings last term, and while he would definitely be a cheaper alternative to Grant, who is likely to cost around £18 million in total, sometimes you really do get what you pay for.
There’s no saying that Ince wouldn’t be brought in alongside another forward too, but if he was the only attacking talent that we signed between now and the end of the window, we would feel immensely underwhelmed.
In other West Brom news, the Baggies would like to strengthen further in this area but time is against them
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