It was reported yesterday by the Birmingham Mail that West Brom are said to be very close on the signing of Swansea defender Kyle Bartley, with Midlands club agreeing on a fee of around £3.5m. The Baggies have also identified their replacement for Stoke bound James McClean.
Brentford’s Romaine Sawyers looks to be the next man on West Brom’s shopping list, with the Darren Moore keen on bringing the midfielder back to the club where he started his career.
Sawyers was released by West Brom in 2013, where he joined Walsall, whom he had impressed at the season before on loan. Now, five years on and he heads West Brom’s list of transfer targets after proving so pivotal for the Bee’s in their constant push for the playoffs.
On the Kyle Bartley front, it was confirmed by Phil Hay at the Yorkshire Evening Post that Leeds had almost given up on their pursuit of the fan-favourite. This gives West Brom the apparent green light to bolster their defence, they must move quickly, however, with the futures of Alfie Mawson and Federico Fernandez growing more uncertain by the day.
West Brom are hopeful for a resolution in the James McClean saga soon, with the club keen to move the controversial winger on following his refusal to join the West Brom squad at their training camp in Scotland. McClean is the third player to refuse training this season, following Ben Foster – now at Watford and Craig Dawson’s reluctance to travel to Portugal.
An uncertain start to the season for Baggies fans’, who will be hopeful the club can iron out their problems with disruptive players, or face potential disaster, similar to Sunderland last year.
