Still in the top half of the table, West Brom are putting themselves in a very good position for the upcoming transfer window, with a new striker one of their priorities.
Too heavily relying on Salomon Rondon this season, the Baggies don’t exactly have an adequate backup for the role, leading to a few rumours mostly involving tall and powerful strikers.
Montpellier’s Steve Mounié was one of the first named, a move Sport Witness was quite fond of, but another target has since emerged.
Napoli’s Duvan Zapata, currently on loan at Udinese, is the latest forward Tony Pulis has reportedly turned to, even if they face a certain amount of competition for his services.
The story first emerged in TuttoMercatoWeb in mid March, and the very same Italian website are continuing to run with it.
Udinese are still very interested in making the move permanent, but Napoli’s demands of €15-20m are a bit out of their price range, leaving the likes of West Brom and clubs in China the frontrunners in the operation, while Atalanta and Torino in Italy are also hovering.
However, if the sales of Franck Kessie (Atalanta) and Andrea Belotti (Torino) were to take place in the summer, the funds required to complete could easily become available for both Italian sides.
While West Brom could easily match Napoli’s demands, one problem stands in their way, and that is the fact Duvan Zapata would like to prioritise a transfer in Italy.
Wanting a starting role in order to stand a chance of making Colombia’s national team squad for the 2018 World Cup, the 25-year-old is also settled in Italy, where he has been since 2013, when Napoli spent £6.4m on him from Estudiantes in Argentina.
This isn’t an unsurmountable problem for West Brom, but it doesn’t make things easier.
