West Bromwich Albion are eying Newcastle United winger Christian Atsu as a Deadline Day saviour amid a slump in form during their Championship title hunt, according to Football Insider.
Slaven Bilic’s Hawthorns natives lost their place at the top of the second-tier table on Tuesday night when beaten 2-1 at Cardiff City, marking their third defeat in five league games.
The Baggies have not won a match in the Championship since a 3-2 win at Birmingham City on December 14, with their form since the joint-worst in the division with only Luton Town also achieving four points from a possible 21.
Bilic is insistent that his West Midlands outfit must recruit attacking options before Friday night’s 23:00 deadline strikes, and club chiefs at the Hawthorns have set their sights on signing Atsu alongside Hull City’s Kamil Grosicki and the confirmed arrival of Callum Robinson on loan from Sheffield United.
Newcastle executives are actively searching for clubs that we can sell Atsu to on Deadline Day, having deemed the Ghanaian and teammate Ki Sung-Yueng surplus to requirements amid a bid to trim down Steve Bruce’s senior fold.
Would Bruce regret selling Atsu to WBA?
Yes
No
Atsu has been a regular part of Bruce’s plans since the boss’ arrival to the helm last summer, with the £30,000-per-week forward featuring in 22 of our fixtures in all competitions.
Only six of Atsu’s 18 Premier League outings have come in the starting line-up, however, and the 60-cap international is yet to score a goal in any competition having assisted four strikes – the 28-year-old has created one goal in his last 15 top-flight games.
Whether Atsu is willing to drop down a division in hope of securing more regular playing time remains to be seen, but his future on Tyneside appears somewhat bleak ahead of entering the final year of his contract this summer.
It also remains to be seen what West Brom will offer for Atsu, given the £5.4million-rated winger is available for a late January transfer and is now seemingly out of favour under Bruce as he chases the signature of Hull City forward Jarrod Bowen.
In other Newcastle United news, the club are considering a Deadline Day bid to sign a £3m striker keen to secure a move away from his current side.