30y/o ex-PL striker ready to drive himself to West Brom and sign deal if Allardyce comes calling
Former Everton and Hull striker Oumar Niasse has confirmed he would be interested in a move to West Brom if Sam Allardyce wants him.
Niasse, 30, is still a free agent after being released by Everton at the end of last season and the Senegal international hopes to sign for an English club sooner rather than later.
He played for Allardyce while he was in charge of Everton but was hardly known for being prolific in front of goal in the Premier League with 12 goals in 65 top-flight appearances across spells at Goodison Park, Hull and a loan stint at Cardiff.
When asked if he’d be interested in a move to The Hawthorns to reunite with Big Sam, Niasse told The Beautiful Game podcast: “I’m always on the phone with my agent and Big Sam is a guy I worked with and we had a good relationship in that time when he was at Everton.
“Right now, the only thing on my mind is if I get to a team in England, just the opportunity to be on the pitch and to do exactly what I’ve been missing all this time.
“I have a good relationship with Big Sam. He knows who I am, he knows me personally so that could be a very good thing I’m interested in.”
“And to be honest, I’m open. I’m open to the teams in England, even in the Championship. The challenge could be interesting.”
Niasse added: “West Brom can be a very good opportunity for me but my agent will do what he needs to do.
“If Big Sam is interested then of course, I would be ready to jump in my car and drive to Birmingham.”
No more Niasse
West Brom need to bolster their striker options in the January transfer window and sorry Niasse, you’re just not someone who will improve what Allardyce already has.
Niasse has shown that he can get on the scoresheet in a team managed by Big Sam and the fact he’s a free agent means Albion should be able to sign him within their budget.
However, Niasse played just five times in all competitions for Everton last season and scored two goals while in 2018/19, he played 20 times for both the Toffees and Cardiff without scoring once.
Niasse has not played a competitive game since January and hasn’t scored a league goal since May 2018.
It would be a very big gamble to pin your hopes on a player like that in January when any new arrivals need to move to The Hawthorns and hit the ground running if they want to keep Albion in the Premier League.
In other West Brom news, seven players are set to miss Albion’s meeting with Leeds.
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