West Brom in talks with Southampton over £12m deal for Jay Rodriguez John Percy
20 JUNE 2017 • 10:04AM
West Bromwich Albion have resumed talks with Southampton over a £12 million deal for Jay Rodriguez. Tony Pulis, the West Brom head coach, is stepping up his bid to sign the England international and battling to tie up a deal before the end of the month.Rodriguez is free to leave Southampton this summer and Albion are in dialogue with Saints, with an initial fee of around £12 million understood to be the asking price. Newcastle are also interested in the 27-year-old forward but it is believed Rodriguez is attracted to the prospect of signing for West Brom, who have attempted to sign him over the last two transfer windows.Southampton’s dismissal of Claude Puel earlier this month, and their subsequent search for a replacement, may delay negotiations but Pulis is hopeful of making the former Burnley striker one of his first signings of the summer.
Pulis held talks with club owner Guochuan Lai in China at the end of last season and was assured of a healthy budget, with sources suggesting around £40 million could be available to spend on players.
Albion are also targeting a centre-half and a defensive midfielder, after the departure of Darren Fletcher to Stoke. Pulis remains interested in former Chelsea captain John Terry but faces competition from Swansea, Bournemouth and Midlands rivals Aston Villa and Birmingham.
Towards the end of last season, Pulis confirmed squad strengthening was a priority. “There’s a better feel about the place now and after two-and-a-half years it’s continuously progressed. To keep doing that, we need better players," he said.
“We have to be clever with our money and get good characters in. I’d love to sign John Terry but then I’d love to sign Sergio Agüero as well.
“Yes, we had a bad run at the end [of last season] but when you digest it, it’s been a fantastic season.
“We have to recognise where we’ve been weak and where we’ve fallen down, then try and improve for next year.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2017/06/20/west-brom-talks-southampton-12m-deal-forjay-rodriguez/?WT.mc_id=tmg_share_tw [ 此帖被羅力亞在2017-07-03 02:33重新編輯 ]