It seems strange that a player who was ‘never really convincing’ at a club in Switzerland is of interest to a couple of Premier League clubs, but that’s exactly what’s going on with Léo Lacroix.
As has been confirmed to Sport Witness in the past, Everton have taken an interest in what the Swiss born centre-back has to offer, which seemed to mostly stem from his performance against Manchester City in the Champions League.
However, they aren’t the only ones anymore, as West Brom, currently set for relegation to the Championship, have also joined the queue in recent times.
The information comes from BZ Basel in Switzerland, who report the reasons why the Swiss club will not be making Lacroix’s loan from Saint-Etienne in France permanent.
Other than ‘not living up to the expectations’, the returns of Eder Balanta from injury and Eray Cümart from loan at Sion haven’t helped his case, nor has the club’s discovery of a young greek defender named Konstantinos Dimitrou who plies his trade for PAOK’s U20s.
This mean they will not be investing in Lacroix, leaving the door wide open for both the Toffees and the Baggies should they make their interest more concrete.
Concerning West Brom, however, a lot will depend on whether the Hawthorns residents stay up in the Premier League, as Sport Witness have been told by a source close to the player that the defender would not be interested in playing in the Championship.
That’s good news for Everton, who will be staying up thanks to Sam Allardyce, but it means West Brom will have to pray for a miracle in the next couple of games, winning both games against Tottenham and Crystal Palace as well as hoping those ahead of them drop points at the same time.
As for the price, Sport Witness have been told Saint-Etienne will likely ask for around €3.5m for Lacroix, perhaps explaining why the interest is there from both clubs in the first place.
Strength in depth is essential in today’s game, and if a bargain comes along, it’s sometimes too good to ignore.
