Southampton threaten to shatter West Brom transfer plans – David Ornstein
West Brom have seen their pursuit of Ainsley Maitland-Niles dealt a huge blow as Southampton have reportedly entered the race to sign the versatile Arsenal ace.
Reporting for The Atheltic, David Ornstein has revealed that the Saints opened talks with Arsenal within the last 24 hours to take the 23-year-old on loan until the end of the season.
Gunners boss Mikel Arteta is said to be in favour of moving Maitland-Niles to the south coast for his player, rather than him leaving for the Baggies or for a rival club amid other interest from a team in the top-four.
Sam Allardyce will no doubt be extremely disappointed by the news, as he continues to try and get transfers over the line before Sunday’s deadline at 11 pm.
A chance missed
Maitland Niles would have been an excellent acquisition for the Baggies. The England international can play in midfield or as a full back.
He’s keen for more minutes to push himself into Gareth Southgate’s squad for the Europen Championships.
Having gone through the Arsenal youth ranks, Maitland-Niles made his debut under Arsene Wenger. He’s gone on to feature for the Gunners over 120 times in all competitions.
Since Arteta came into the club as manager, the Englishman has seen his match-time decrease. There was talk of a potential move to Wolves in the summer but nothing materialised.
This season he’s seen opportunities limited at Arsenal. Overall he’s had eleven appearances in the Premier League, five in Europa League and once in the FA Cup.
A transfer to West Brom would have been fantastic for all parties. Maitland-Niles would undoubtedly get first-team football for the remainder of the season at the Hawthorns.
He would have come in at a fantastic time too. The Baggies are facing six teams from the bottom half in their next eight matches.
The next two fixtures, at home to Fulham and away to Sheffield United, are arguably the biggest of the season for the strugglers.
In other West Brom news, Fabrizio Romano has claimed that a medical is pending for this Baggies transfer target.