West Brom fail to sign winger wanted by Big Sam – Sky Sports
West Brom have failed in their pursuit of Middlesbrough winger Duncan Watmore, according to Sky Sports.
It was confirmed by Boro on Thursday that Watmore, 26, has agreed to sign a new two-and-a-half-year contract at The Riverside after initially joining the Championship club on a short-term deal in November.
Sky Sports reported via their Transfer Centre on Thursday [10:40am] that Baggies manager Sam Allardyce “had shown strong interest” in Watmore while a number of Championship clubs had made offers too.
However, based on Boro’s latest update, West Brom have failed to sign Watmore, who’s scored five goals in eight Championship appearances for the Teesside club.
Snodgrass > Watmore
West Brom may have failed to sign Watmore but they are getting a far better winger in Robert Snodgrass, who is reportedly closing in on a move to The Hawthorns from West Ham.
According to The Athletic journalist Steve Madeley, the 33-year-old’s move to the Black Country is “imminent” with the ex-Aston Villa winger set to sign an 18-month deal.
Snodgrass is a seasoned professional who’s made 163 Premier League appearances in his career as well as earning 28 caps for Scotland.
There’s no denying that Watmore has been in good form at Middlesbrough since joining them on a free transfer in November but the former Sunderland winger has just one season of Premier League football on his CV and at this point, Albion are in desperate need of an experienced player who can feature every week.
West Brom fans have wanted the club to bring the average age down in the last few years and Luke Dowling has managed to achieve that.
But there’s a lack of leadership and Premier League experience among the regular starters this season and Snodgrass will hopefully offer that once he arrives.
In other West Brom news, Villa have joined the Baggies in the hunt to sign this proven Premier League goalscorer.
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