West Brom almost signed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, says ex-Hawthorns chief
Former West Brom Head of UK Recruitment Stuart White has shared how the club were given the opportunity to sign superstar striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang but decided against pursuing the deal.
White shared how he had seen Aubameyang score for Saint Ettienne while on loan from AC Milan before discovering the deal was affordable but opted against making an official move.
Aubameyang went on to represent Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, Barcelona and Arsenal at the highest level, scoring 68 Premier League goals in 128 appearances for the Gunners in a real kick in the teeth for the Baggies’ recruitment staff.
White was speaking on the Albion Analysis podcast, where he shared: “I was watching a centre forward in the French Ligue 2, Sebastian Rivas, who was ripping it up. The next day I took in a game on my way home and it was Auxerre who were playing St Etienne.
“St Etienne had Dimitri Payet and Blaise Matuidi, and up front, it was Emmanuel Riviere and Aubameyang. He was on loan from Milan and he scored.
“I went to Villa v Newcastle the next day and Roy was there and I asked him if he’d heard of him, he said no, but our scout from France was there and he knew a bit more. An agent contacted me and then the Monday after I went in to see Dan (Ashworth).
“The deal was affordable, a loan with an option to buy, but I had only seen him once and wasn’t going to stick my hat on him. To be fair to Dan he got on a plane within a few weeks and went to watch him against Metz and he scored.
“We had a conversation and Dan said he was not 100 per cent. He said maybe if we were in the Championship, but in the Premier League he was not convinced, and it died a death.”
Add him to the list of ones that got away
Aubameyang now joins Real Madrid and Bayern Munich legends Luka Modric and Robert Lewandowski on the ever-growing list of superstar talents that could have, at one stage, been plying their trade at The Hawthorns.
Of course, most clubs in England, or even around the world, will have stories of players they could have signed that went on to have stupendous careers elsewhere, but it doesn’t make the regret feel any less of a kick in the teeth when you think of what could have been.
Neil Warnock has shared how his scouts decided Virgil Van Dijk was too slow and opted not to bring him to Crystal Palace [The Independent, 2018], while West Ham missed out on bringing Brazilian superstar Neymar to East London despite making an offer [Daily Mail, 2010].
What must be remembered (in an effort to avoid a breakdown) is that it is unlikely Aubameyang would have had such a successful career if he hadn’t made the move to Germany rather than The Hawthorns, where he made his name with Borussia Dortmund.
Just imagine for a moment what his career would have been like had Aubameyang lined up alongside Chris Brunt and Victor Anichebe at West Brom in 2013 rather than Marco Reus and Robert Lewandowski.
In other West Brom news, an agent has provided an update on a possible exiting player.