Monday brought a few more stories after a quiet weekend, including reports of Albion Making. An. Offer. For. A. Player. Read on…
Emin Bayram
Turkish media outlet Aksam report Albion’s interest in young Galatasaray centre-back Emin Bayram has been backed up with an offer in the region of €8m, which the Turkish giants are said to have rejected.
Bayram is currently on loan to Belgian side KVC Westerlo where he has impressed, with Galatasaray seeing him as part of their squad for the 2024/25 campaign.
Albion skipper and talisman Lewis Dunk turns 33 this year, and the club will be keen to identify a long-term partner for the Jan Paul van Hecke, who has been one of the standout performers this season.
Philip Otele
Adrian Mutu (remember him?) has reportedly questioned the asking price for Philip Otele set by Romanian outfit CFR Cluj. Albion have recently been linked with the Nigerian winger.
In the January transfer window, CFR Cluj are reported to have turned down bids of well under €2m from Bordeaux and Lorient, as they look for a fee in the region of €7m.
After scoring 13 goals and assisting six in the Romanian regular season, Otele was named in Liga Profesionistă de Fotbal’s Best XI. He was less effective in the play-offs, prompting Mutu’s comments.
Cristian Medina
21-y-o Boca Juniors’ midfielder Cristian Medina has been on Albion’s radar for a while, with young, talented South-Americans are the bread-and-butter of the club’s recruitment team.
Whilst West Ham have also been linked with an interest, Boca Noticias now report Spurs are also now on the hunt, with the London outfit wanting to sign Medina “in the next transfer market”.
Medina is contracted to Boca until 2027. if Albion do have a serious interest, it would be good to get Agent Barco on the case and put in some good words!
Russell Martin
Southampton manager Russell Martin has been linked to the Albion in recent weeks, as speculation about Roberto De Zerbi made the news on a near-daily basis. Tony Bloom and Paul Barber will undoubtedly have a shortlist of potential successors and Russell Martin was said to be someone of interest.
The Saints’ man, a keen advocate of possession football, was questioned about the speculation for the first time:
“Honestly I’ve not got a clue [where it is from]. The head of media said it to me the other day and I’ve not got a clue. Obviously, I’m from there and the styles are fairly similar.
“It’s probably someone putting two and two together and making five. I’m in a job I’m really happy with, and I need to get promoted to the Premier League. It’s really that simple.”
Southampton currently sit fourth in the Championship and are assured of a play-off spot. Automatic promotion is still mathematically possible, but unlikely as things stand. Saints would probably need to win all five of their remaining fixtures and hope for results to very much go their way elsewhere. If you think they can clinch a top-two position, you could make a nice return with odds of 7/1.
Image courtesy of Reuters
