‘Unusual times’ – Athletic journalist delivers West Brom striker transfer update
Athletic journalist Steve Madeley has issued an update on the attempts to bring Huddersfield striker Karlan Grant to West Brom.
The Baggies have been trying to wrestle Grant away from Huddersfield all summer, with the move being the main transfer saga at the Hawthorns in recent months.
Slaven Bilic has been keen to bring a striker to the Hawthorns all summer, with Grant reportedly his top target.
Speaking on his personal Twitter account Madeley addressed whether he thought the transfer is still possible between the two sides, saying the Baggies don’t have much of their budget left, but that “there’s still a deal to done”.
He said it would need to be an “unusual package” but said these are “unusual times”.
Later, he responded to a fan who asked him if he thought the deal would go through. He said if he was pushed he would say yes, but that he wasn’t “confident”.
West Brom have reportedly reached an impasse in negotiations with the Terriers over how a fee would be paid. With Huddersfield wanting the whole fee upfront and West Brom wanting to pay in instalments.
A deal for Grant doesn’t necessarily have to be done by October 5 however, as the window for domestic transfers runs longer (until October 16), and could give West Brom the time to work out a suitable deal for the English striker.
Grant is yet to feature for Huddersfield this season and it won’t be doing the Terriers any favours to have a player burning a hole in their wage budget while not playing.
Could we see them lower their asking price for the 23-year-old, or agreeing to an unusual structure, in a bid to raise money for themselves and get Grant off the wage bill?
The Baggies have been perusing other striking options in-case they can’t agree a deal for Grant.
However, moves for strikers from abroad will need to be done by Monday’s deadline. If Bilic opts to bring in one of those other targets, we should see some transfer activity very soon.
In other West Brom news, ‘They are going to have to wait’ – BBC pundit predicts score in West Brom v Southampton clash.
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