West Bromwich Albion are close to finalising a deal for Galatasaray striker Mbaye Diagne to arrive on a permanent deal.
That’s according to Takvim, who say the Baggies have abandoned their efforts to get the forward on loan this month.
They report that West Brom are ‘close’ to finalising a deal for the striker after initially holding talks about a loan with a purchase option included.
Those, though, turned into ‘direct sales negotiations’ after they reached an agreement with Istanbul Basaksehir midfielder İrfan Can Kahveci.
The onus now appears to be on West Brom to get the deal over the line and secure Sam Allardyce the striker he wants.
Whether Diagne is that man, though, remains to be seen given reports earlier had stated they aren’t actually interested in Diagne.
That came via agent Mesrun Izzet, who insisted Diagne was not on their list and Everton’s Cenk Tosun was at the top of it instead.
“I met with Sam Allardyce, the manager of West Brom, four days ago,” Fanatik reported him saying.
“I offered him a striker, but his first choice is Cenk Tosun because he is a former student.
“Moreover, he does not have problems adapting to the UK because he’s been there a long time.
“He’s not thinking about Diagne. Diagne is not a striker in the profile he’s looking for. Allardyce is currently in talks with three strikers. They want to get a midfielder and a stopper too.”
