If West Bromwich Albion want to sign Benik Afobe from Premier League rivals AFC Bournemouth, they will have to stump up a cool £15m.
It’s a sign of the times that Bournemouth can demand a mammoth £15 million for an out-of-favour striker with just four league starts to his name all season.
Yet, according to The Sun, that is how much The Cherries want for Benik Afobe with the former Arsenal striker tumbling down the pecking order at the Vitality Stadium this season.
It is understood that big-spending Championship leaders Wolves are interested in bringing Afobe back to Molineux, two years after they sold him to Bournemouth for £10 million. The 24-year-old has struggled to make the grade in the Premier League but had an excellent record in the second tier, netting 22 goals in 46 games for the Black Country club.
And The Sun adds that West Brom, who have been linked with Afobe for some time, have once again emerged as a potential destination too.
One of Alan Pardew’s key priorities at The Hawthorns must be to add more goals to his side’s games. West Brom have scored just 12 times in 17 Premier League games; only bottom of the table Crystal Palace have netted fewer.
But there’s little evidence to suggest that Afobe could do any more than Salomon Rondon, Hal Robson-Kanu or Jay Rodriguez. In 43 top flight games for Bournemouth, Afobe has only struck six goals and has often looked out of his depth at this level.
And while he may find it a little easier at West Brom, a side who rely on a more direct approach than the patient passing of The Cherries, it would be a major risk for The Baggies to make Afobe their all-time record signing.
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