West Brom talks to sign Davie Selke from Hertha Berlin break down
West Brom have failed in talks to sign Hertha Berlin striker Davie Selke late on deadline day, according to The Athletic’s Elias Burke.
The 27-year-old was the subject of talks between the Baggies and the Bundesliga outfit, who they played in pre-season where Selke scored, as Steve Bruce aimed to get a final signing through before 11pm.
But Burke now believes that talks have broken down between the two clubs and the deal to sign the six-foot, five-inch striker has now collapsed.
“West Bromwich Albion have made contact in recent days with Hertha BSC striker Davie Selke, but I understand talks broke down,” Burke said via his personal Twitter account. “Selke scored at The Hawthorns in WBA’s final pre-season friendly against Bundesliga side. Albion still on the lookout for a No. 9.”
West Brom could also sign Fulham midfielder Josh Onomah today while striker Callum Robinson is set to leave the club and join Cardiff City.
Missed opportunity
With Daryl Dike out injured, again, Bruce does not have a proper target man to call upon when he needs to and in the Championship, that is much more important than a lot of people realise.
You only have to look at the three promoted teams from last season who all had real focal points that were able to win points with their sheer physical presence (Aleksandr Mitrovic at Fulham, Kieffer Moore at Bournemouth and Sam Surridge at Nottingham Forest).
Selke is a very similar player to that and even though Moore was not a regular starter thanks to the form of Dominic Solanke, he still played his part off the bench.
That could have been the German’s role behind Karlan Grant if the Baggies had managed to come to an agreement with Hertha but perhaps the sale of Krzysztof Piątek to Salernitana has prevented any further outgoing from the Olympic Stadium in Berlin.
In other West Brom news, Tahith Chong from Manchester United is another target earmarked for a deadline day move but Albion face competition.