West Brom weighing up January move for former Chelsea striker
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Tony Pulis is in the market for fresh striking talent to help guarantee West Brom’s Premier League survival, though there’s real familiarity about the latest face linked with the Baggies.
Besiktas striker Demba Ba is the latest name off the press and given his proven pedigree in the English top flight, it’s not difficult to see the attraction for Pulis.
Ba made quite the splash in English football, bursting onto the scene at West Ham, before clocking up plenty of goals at Newcastle and earning a high-profile move to Chelsea.
Given the stiff competition at Stamford Bridge however, the latter transfer failed to work out favourably for Ba whose career stalled badly over 18 months in west London, before opting for a stint in Turkish football for the start of the 2014/15 campaign.
Still, an overall record of 43 goals in 99 Premier League appearances is not to be baulked at, especially if survival is your number one priority, as it is for Pulis.
A former Premier League Player of the Month at Newcastle, Ba has certainly rediscovered his scoring touch since joining up with Besiktas, where he’s bagged 14 times in 20 appearances.
At one point this season the Senegalese international embarked on a run of scoring in six consecutive games, finding the net nine times in all.
Only Redbull Salzburg’s Alan, with six, has netted more Europa League goals than Ba this season as well, after putting five away in the group stages.
With Ba on board, 14th-place West Brom could certainly become more focused on a top-half finish – rated at 10/1 ahead of Tottenham’s league visit – rather than constantly checking their wing mirrors.
Having paid £8m for his service in the summer, though, Besiktas will surely play hard ball in January.
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