West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa are set to rival for Southampton striker Michael Obafemi as reported by the Express & Star.
The Baggies are keen to bring in one or two strikers in this summer transfer window to increase their strikeforce and are now eyeing a swoop for the Saints hitman.
However, they face competition from fellow Premier League side and bitter rivals Aston Villa with them also said to be interested in the youngster.
Obafemi scored three goals and provided two assists in 21 appearances last season but Danny Ings, Shane Long and Che Adams are all above him in the pecking order and he could find game time hard to come by next season.
The Republic of Ireland international was born in Dublin to Nigerian parents and at just 20-years-old he has plenty of room for progress and development and is likely to receive much more regular game time at West Brom.
Obafemi is highly regarded by Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl but could be made available for around £10million which is a figure both West Brom and Aston Villa would be willing to pay for the right striker.
West Brom are well known for bringing in younger players whether it be on loan or on permanent deals such as with Grady Diangana and Harvey Barnes in recent seasons who have both flourished at the Hawthorns.
Aston Villa are also monitoring Obafemi with a lack of goals an issue for them last season and with striker Wesley having suffered an injury which kept him on the sidelines for the second half of the campaign.
