Report suggests West Brom were snubbed by Real Madrid 27y/o who’s available in Jan
West Brom were reportedly snubbed by Real Madrid attacker Mariano Diaz over the summer, with the player likely to be available in January.
According to the Daily Mail, the Baggies approached the 27-year-old in the summer but he had doubts over joining a newly-promoted team.
However, Mariano has played just 14 minutes in La Liga this season and is set to be allowed to leave the club in the New Year.
The report adds that West Ham have been offered the chance to sign him in January, but it remains to be seen if West Brom will come back in for the player.
Centre-forward Karlan Grant arrived at The Hawthorns in October for a fee of around £15 million (via BBC Sport), and The Athletic’s Steve Madeley claimed recently that there would be limited money to spend in January.
While the idea of Mariano is certainly a nice one, it is hard to envision the Baggies going back in for him in January.
In Grant, it seems that they made their investment in the attack, while they also spent heavily on Grady Diangana and Matheus Pereira.
Given their record in attack and defence last season, six goals scored and 17 conceded (via WhoScored), it can be argued that Slaven Bilic’s side needs reinforcements at both ends of the pitch. However, in terms of personnel, the most pressing issue is the centre of defence.
Following Ahmed Hegazi’s departure, the Baggies have Semi Ajayi, Branislav Ivanovic, Dara O’Shea, Kyle Bartley and Cedric Kipre as their only options. Kipre has not appeared in the Premier League so far though, while O’Shea has not been trusted as part of a centre-back pairing but rather in a three.
Whether the funds are even there is doubtful, but if the Baggies are to make a move in January, the defence should be the focus.
In other West Brom news, this Man United star is fit to face Albion this weekend
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