Going nowhere
James McClean will not be going anywhere this month, according to his manager.
McClean, who has been linked with Celtic and Burnley, has struggled to command regular starts for the past year or more.
But Alan Pardew reckons the Republic of Ireland international, who scored in the 2-1 defeat at West Ham on Tuesday night, will be staying put.
“We’ve had no bids - I don’t see me moving him on or him wanting to go,” Pardew said.
“I don’t see that scenario.”
Speculation McClean might look to move increased after the Irishman took a veiled social media dig at former manager Tony Pulis.
Left out of the team for the 1-0 defeat at Southampton in late October, the hot-headed winger took to Instagram to vent his frustration.
Linked - again!
West Brom have had scouts north of the border in attendance this season to watch Celtic attacker Leigh Griffiths, according to reports in Scotland.
International forward Griffiths was heavily linked with a move to The Hawthorns in the summer, but ultimately remained with the SPL champions.
He said at the time: “I have got a great manager behind me. He sees me day in and day out. That’s why he has stuck with me.
“He was frustrated when I was injured, but I got a run of games towards the end of last season.
“Even then, people say I am going to be out the door.
“I’ll keep battering the doors down to show I am good enough to stay in the Celtic squad.”
Palace battle
West Brom have been linked with a move for Crystal Palace target Ibrahim Amadou this month.
Amadou, 24, is the captain of Ligue 1 side Lille who are currently occupying a relegation spot in France’s top tier and the general consensus is that he’s been the outstanding performer of a deeply underwhelming campaign for the club.
Also capable of playing in the centre of defence, Amadou has already been the subject of a £16m bid from Albion’s relegation rivals Palace, who have lost just once in their last eleven under Roy Hodgson and have dragged themselves away from the bottom three.
Reports in Italy, however, are suggesting that a number of other Premier League teams, including the Baggies, are ready to follow Palace in pursuing him in the January window.
Amadou was one of the seven players, along with Albion’s Allan Nyom and Liverpool defender Joel Matip, to reject a call up from Cameroon for last year’s African Cup of Nations because of disagreements with the staff.
It’s believed Lille are looking at closer to £18m for their skipper.
An explanation
Former West Brom striker Peter Odemwingie has explained that he didn’t realise his proposed move to Queens Park Rangers in January 2013 hinged on Junior Hoilett coming the other way.
Odemwingie infamously drove to Loftus Road to complete a deal to relegation-threatened QPR on deadline day five years ago, only for the move to fall through because of Hoilett’s unwillingness to head to The Hawthorns.
It left the Nigerian international waiting until the following summer to complete a move to newly-promoted Cardiff (ironically where Hoilett is currently playing).
Odemwingie remains the Baggies’ top Premier League goalscorer with 30 goals.
“Everything seemed agreed, but actually I didn’t know that one of the terms was that they [West Brom] were getting [Junior] Hoilett and [if I had known that] I would have never driven to London,” Odemwingie told Sky Sports.
Pardew in full
Alan Pardew has faced the press today ahead of the weekend’s trip to League Two Exeter City for the third round of the FA Cup.
It’s been a disappointing week for West Brom; there was the setback of winger Matt Phillips, who was forced to miss the clash at West Ham on Tuesday after feeling his hamstring in the warm-up.
Then there was the match itself, where a devastating late goal from Andy Carroll won all three points for the Hammers and plunged Albion even further into relegation danger.
Pardew confirmed that Phillips, and the returning Craig Dawson, would not be risked for the meeting with the Grecians and discussed the event at the London Stadium concerning Jake Livermore, an FA Cup run and the forthcoming January transfer window.
Read all below.
Livermore latest
Alan Pardew is confident Jake Livermore will not be punished by the FA for angrily confronting a fan during West Bromwich Albion’s defeat at West Ham.
Livermore had to be restrained after challenging a West Ham supporter who taunted the Albion man over the loss of his newborn son Jake Junior in May 2014.
In so doing, the 27-year-old ran the risk of an FA charge of bringing the game into disrepute.
The offence can carry a lengthy fine and ban.
But Pardew is convinced no further action will be taken against Livermore given the manner of provocation at the London Stadium.
Potential freebies
West Brom could bag themselves a number of bargain players in the summer, if the list below is anything to go by.
These are the players that are nearing the end of their contracts and will be free agents in the suimmer.
That is if they don't sign new deals, some of them do have options.
Who would you fancy off the list?
Clubs could be tempted to sell players on the cheap in January to avoid losing them for nothing in the summer.
It's an interesting list of names ranging from the young to the old, and the plausible to the completely out of reach.
