West Bromwich Albion could reportedly sign both Wes Hoolahan and Bakary Sako to aid their Championship challenge.
West Bromwich Albion have looked like a different team since the spectre of Tony Pulis was banished from The Hawthorns.
Speaking to the Express and Star before the start of the season, West Brom’s new assistant coach Graeme Jones has admitted that the club are striving to leave behind the plodding, pragmatic approach that became synonymous with the bitter end of Pulis.
“We have to play more attacking football and score more goals,” said Jones, who coached Belgium at the World Cup and honed his trade alongside the purist Roberto Martinez.
“It is a different requirement staying in the Premier League and getting promoted from the Championship. It is a natural thing that has to change. In order to move forward we can’t play (Pulis’ style) any more.”
With club legend Darren Moore on the touchline, West Brom have gone back to their roots, employing a fast-paced, attacking brand of football that has given supporters something to cheer at long last. They are currently the highest scoring team in the Championship.
And the departure from Pulis’s style will become even more pronounced if both Wes Hoolahan and Bakary Sako arrive at The Hawthorns.
According to the Irish Independent, 36-year-old Hoolahan is set to be offered a short-term contract with the Baggies. A clever and intelligent play-maker who assisted countless goals for Norwich, he will make West Brom easier on the eye.
Moore also admitted that he was interested in Sako, the explosive winger who left Crystal Palace in the summer. Should he arrive, too, West Brom could play a style that is a million miles from the Pulis bore-fest.
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