West Brom made £13m bid to sign Turkish league striker before Mbaye Diagne – report
Before signing Mbaye Diagne West Brom made a £13m bid for Besiktas striker Cyle Larin, according to Turkish outlet Ajansspor.
Diagne joined in late January from Galatasaray and made an instant impact at The Hawthorns as he registered an assist on his debut in a 2-2 draw with Fulham.
However it appears he was not the only striker in Turkey that the Baggies were looking at.
Ajansspor report that West Brom made an official offer for Larin before signing Diagne.
They carry quotes from Yilmaz Capolat, a close ally of Besiktas president Ahmet Nur Ceb, who told Radyospor during a live broadcast [16/02/21]: “During the break, a British team made an official offer to Besiktas.
“They offered 15 million Euros for Larin. President Ahmet Nur Cebi did not accept this.”
Ajansspor confirm the British club in question to be West Brom who offered £13 million for his services.
Big Sam made the right move
The Canadian international has had a great start to the campaign for Besiktas and he is joint-second in the Super Lig goal-scoring charts with 14 behind only Aaron Boupendza [17].
He is also second for expected goals and assists [11.05] which places him one rank higher than Albion’s new recruit Diagne [Wyscout].
This has been Larin’s breakthrough season at Besiktas after scoring just once in 12 appearances during the 2018/18 Super Lig campaign and he spent last term out on loan at Belgian side Zulte Waregem.
This move was not an unmitigated success but he did score with more regularity as he hit seven league goals.
But he has really come to the fore for Besiktas this season despite making the majority (13) of his 19 starts from the left [WhoScored].
While he may have offered some versatility across the forward line this is not a deal we feel we have really missed out on with Diagne possessing a much higher pedigree and experience of playing the lone front role.
In other West Brom news, Steve Madeley says this EFL manager could replace Big Sam as Baggies boss.
Be sure to follow West Brom News on Facebook and Twitter for 24/7 updates on the Baggies and more.