‘He’s scoring goals’ – Exclusive: Super Kev reacts to reported West Brom ‘Unknown’ striker talks
We’re delighted to welcome former West Brom striker Kevin Phillips as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at The Hawthorns…
Kevin Phillips has urged West Brom to ditch their pursuit of “unknown” Galatasaray striker Mbaye Diagne with talks reportedly underway.
On Thursday, Hürriyet journalist Ali Naci Küçük reported that negotiations between Galatasaray and West Brom have taken place with the Turkish club asking for a £710,000 loan fee.
However, Phillips believes that Albion need a centre-forward who has shown his worth in the Premier League already in his career rather than someone like Diagne, who’s spent his career playing in less-reputable leagues in China, Saudi Arabia, Hungary, Belgium and Turkey.
“My opinion? I wouldn’t even entertain it. Not at the stage of the season, someone who’s unknown,” Phillips told West Brom News.
“Yes, he’s scoring goals in those sorts of leagues and good luck to him but the Premier League is a different ball game.
“If you were going to gamble then you would take someone like [Christian] Benteke over him because he knows the league and he has done it before.
“But, to take that sort of risk one someone who’s unknown, they don’t have the time for someone to bed in. They need to hit the ground running.
“Diagne would be non-runner for me.”
We share the same reservations as Super Kev.
Diagne has been in good form for Galatasaray this season, scoring 11 goals in 19 appearances across all competitions. However, those goals are coming against some of Turkey’s lesser teams. No one like Besiktas, Basaksehir and Fenerbahce have conceded to the Senegal international.
Diagne would be a massive risk in our opinion, even if he is available on a six-month loan deal for £710,000.
Albion’s transfer budget is not great and the fact they’re considering Diagne proves that.
What happened to being linked with Joshua King? We must have been priced out of a move, which is embarrassing considering he’s barely playing at Championship side Bournemouth and is out of contract at the end of the season.
In other West Brom news, Nathan Ferguson has sent a message to his player who’s exiting the Albion on loan.
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