West Brom have been offered the chance to sign Troy Deeney from Watford this summer, according to the Daily Mail.
They report that Slaven Bilic has his doubts about landing the experienced hitman, because he wants to lower the age of his squad.
With that in mind, he would apparently prefer to sign Karlan Grant from Huddersfield.
It’s not for us to tell the Croat how to do his job and there are clearly merits in trying to operate with a younger group, but we’ve picked out three benefits if Bilic set aside his doubts and went with Deeney over Grant.
Proven in the Premier League
Deeney has 47 Premier League goals to his name in his career, and has proved himself capable of doing the business against top flight backlines.
He was something of a leader for Watford as well, and his injury problems badly impacted their relegation season last time around.
Having someone at the sharp end of the pitch who knows where the goal is – and can bring others into play as well – can make a world of difference to a team in the lower half of the table.
He loves scoring against Villa
After a one-season break, the Baggies are back playing against Aston Villa this term.
As per Transfermarkt, Deeney has an outstanding record against the Villans.
He has six goals in just four matches against them, three of which have been victories.
Deeney may be a Birmingham fan, but that just seems to fire him up against Villa and West Brom’s games against them could be crucial this term.
Leadership qualities
On paper, Grant and Deeney are both capable of netting around 10 goals for West Brom next season.
But which man would have the bigger impact on the dressing room? Who would be more of a leader?
Deeney would, by quite some way. He’s a straight talker and someone who seems to inspire a better performance level from those around him too.
Bilic is a strong character himself and would likely love to surround himself with more in the top flight.
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