Sky Sports delivers major update on West Brom move for £17k/wk striker
Sky Sports report that West Brom have ended their pursuit of Benfica’s Haris Seferovic, per their Transfer Centre (22/01, 11:20).
Albion’s interest in the striker emerged this week via BT Sport commentator Ian Darke, while the Express & Star also reported the news.
However, Sky Sports suggest that Benfica want to sell Seferovic on a permanent deal, so will not entertain loan offers.
That is likely why West Brom have pulled out, as the report indicates that the club’s finances only allow for a temporary move.
Worrying sign
If the Albion hierarchy are only chasing loan deals this month then that will severely restrict Sam Allardyce’s ability to sign players.
Andy Lonergan arriving for free points to that being the case, too, while the deal for Snodgrass is one of those rare instances where all the stars aligned.
The only positive from that report is that we are still in for Mbaye Diagne, but he is not a guaranteed success.
We would rather have seen Seferovic coming through the door and this is undoubtedly a disappointment.
The 28-year-old has a good pedigree, having played for Switzerland, Real Sociedad and Fiorentina.
A return of 53 goals and 19 assists in three-and-a-years at Benfica shows he would have contributed well to the attack, and would have been an improvement on our current options.
The likes of Callum Robinson and Hal Robson-Kanu cannot boast of playing in some of Europe’s top divisions as Seferovic can, with the striker also previously playing for Frankfurt.
The club’s refusal to pay a transfer fee exposes a lack of ambition, too, as Seferovic is reportedly earning just £17,000 a week.
Big Sam should feel frustrated by this outcome, as he needs to be backed if we are to overhaul the six-point gap to 17th.
In other West Brom news, Emile Heskey has urged the club to sign a former Premier League striker.