The latest transfer news as West Brom and Hull City send offers to Liverpool.
West Bromwich Albion are reportedly one of several Championship clubs to have tabled a loan offer for a Liverpool hot prospect.
The Baggies are in the market for a new central midfielder and are considering loaning from Liverpool to provide cover for the season ahead. Albion have already taken midfielder Toby Collyer on loan from Manchester United but are now keen on a youngster from Merseyside.
Earlier in the window, West Brom are understood to have spent around £9 million to sign Aune Heggebo, Nat Phillips and George Campbell, so much of this summer’s budget was depleted. Selling Torbjorn Heggem to Bologna for around £10 million has replenished much of that, but great care must still be taken to comply with the profit and sustainability rules (PSR).
Bringing in players for cut-price fees and on loan deals is a great workaround for Ryan Mason as he seeks to get his squad in the most competitive place possible. Albion have won their opening two games of the season but a position in the top six cannot be taken for granted; there’s a long campaign ahead.
West Brom and Hull City send offers to Liverpool
With that in mind, one player the Baggies are seemingly targeting is Liverpool midfielder James McConnell. The 20-year-old, capable of playing as a number six, an eight or a 10, has gradually been making his breakthrough at Anfield. McConnell has racked up 13 senior appearances to date and looks like a decent talent.
The Athletic reports Liverpool are ‘considering loan approaches’ for McConnell and that the potential suitors include West Brom, Hull City, Oxford United and Sturm Graz. All four clubs are said to be actively pursuing McConnell, following a similar report from a fortnight ago which also credited Ipswich Town, Derby County and Swansea City with interest.
McConnell could be a great signing for any of those clubs. The youngster has gained the faith of Liverpool boss Arne Slot as he was handed a start and a full 90 minutes in the UEFA Champions League last season against PSV Eindhoven. Jurgen Klopp liked the look of McConnell, too, as he awarded him three Premier League cameos during the 2023/24 campaign.
How would McConnell fit in at West Brom?
If McConnell ends up at The Hawthorns, he could end up playing a key role under Mason. It’s unlikely that would happen immediately, however, as the Baggies already have a decent midfield partnership of Jayson Molumby and Alex Mowatt. Both players have started the new season in fine form.
Ousmane Diakite and Collyer are then the two others McConnell will have to compete with for a place in the side. Isaac Price is nailed as the number 10, so it’s just the two spots in the deeper-lying pivot that will be up for grabs. It would be up to McConnell and Collyer - both similar profiles of player to Molumby and Mowatt - to make their impressions in training.
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