View: Clarke-Harris interest shows West Brom are ready to dispose of Charlie Austin idea
It seems West Brom are starting to learn that signing established Premier League strikers who have fallen out of favour is not a route to instant success.
Charlie Austin was signed at the beginning of the 2019/20 Championship campaign to much fanfare but disappointed as he scored just 10 goals in 34 appearances as Albion limped over the automatic promotion line on the final day.
Apart from the lack of goals [only six were from open play] the Southampton signing appeared lazy and disinterested at times and was clearly just happy to pick up his £70,000 per week wages before moving on loan to QPR in January.
According to Bristol Live Albion have been scouting Peterborough United striker Clarke-Harris with a view to buying him in the summer should they suffer Premier League relegation.
The 26-year-old is League One’s top scorer and his 21 goals have propelled Posh to top spot in the third-tier.
Any approach from West Brom is likely to be dependent on their status per the report, as transfer contingency plans are being drawn up for relegation back into the second tier and Clarke-Harris is believed to be part of that, with a £5million fee mooted.
Of course, we are not writing off our Premier League hopes just yet after our recent resurgence that included a three-game unbeaten run prior to defeat to Everton on Thursday, but it is good to hear plans are being drawn for every eventuality.
While Clarke-Harris is not a name that immediately grabs attention we think it has the hallmarks of being a smart signing and indicates that we are no longer a fairground for the has-beens.
If we do go back down to the Championship we need to assemble a younger squad and be more proportionate in the contracts we hand out.
After being out of the Championship since 2016-17 Clarke-Harris would be hungry and driven to give his all for Albion, something we never really felt with Austin whose contract expires in the summer.
He should not be offered a new deal and more focus should be on recruiting emerging young talents or EFL stars like Clarke-Harris.
In other West Brom news, fans could be set for Hawthorns reunion in May.
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