West Brom locked in negotiations to sign PL striker as Baggies hijack planned medical - report
West Brom have hijacked Celtic's loan swoop to sign West Ham striker Albian Ajeti, according to Read Celtic.
The news outlet claims that Ajeti, 23, was due to jet into Glasgow to undergo a medical with the Scottish Premiership champions but he has now pulled the plug on a loan switch north of the border after West Brom came calling for him.
It is understood that the Baggies are "locked in negotiations" with West Ham as Slaven Bilic aims to sign the Switzerland international.
However, a deal is not exactly straightforward for Albion as Read Celtic adds that the Hammers are not keen on sending the striker out on loan to a Premier League rival. But they would be interested in selling Ajeti permanently, which is why his scheduled medical with Celtic has not taken place.
Ajeti joined West Ham last summer for £8million but the former Basel striker endured a tough debut season in English football as he failed to score in 12 appearances and failed to start a single Premier League game.
The Baggies were interested in signing Ajeti before he made that move to the London Stadium but, as reported by the Express & Star just over a year ago, the Black Country club pulled out of the race for his signature due to his wage demands.
We don't think West Brom should try to sign Ajeti.
He's already priced himself out of a move to The Hawthorns once and has done nothing to prove he is Premier League quality at West Ham.
Unless it is a very, very cheap deal, then we don't think Bilic should be pursuing this too hard when there are bound to be other options out there who have more Premier League experience and at least one Premier League goal to their name.
In other West Brom news, Albion want to sign this £18million-rated English striker.