Shoot believes that Premier League side West Bromwich Albion are interested in Queens Park Rangers duo Charlie Austin and Matty Phillips. Tony Pulis is looking to bolster his squad in the January transfer window, ahead of the second half of the season.
Regarding Austin, this move appears somewhat unlikely to eventually go through, certainly in January anyway. The striker isn’t said to be interested in moving to a Premier League side that are battling against relegation this January, according to Evening Standard. Although the Baggies sit in mid-table at this moment in time, it would be fair to say they be challenging closer to the bottom than the top half of the table. It is well-documented that Austin’s contract expires at the end of this season, but last week he refuses to rule out leaving QPR in the transfer window.
24-year-old Phillips has found the net on four occasions for the managerless Championship side so far this season. He has been capped on two occasions by the Scottish national side, and could potentially be open to a move back to the top flight.
West Brom could be set to receive a heap of potential transfer funds from the sale of star forward Saido Berahino, who is linked with moves to the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in the New Year.
Both Austin and Phillips are certainly key to QPR’s chances of regaining their Premier League status at the very first attempt. Both were shining lights for QPR last season in what was a largely disappointing campaign as they were relegated to the Championship under Chris Ramsey. One of the first tasks for the new QPR manager, should that be Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Nigel Pearson or anyone, will be to convince players like these to stay with the club.
