West Brom were rejected by Fenerbahce midfielder Josef de Souza in the summer – and now they’re after his former team-mate.
Few thought when Raul Meireles left for Fenerbahce in 2012 that he would be back in the Premier League five years later.
That is exactly what could happen however. The Mirror claim that Meireles, who is a free agent after leaving Turkish giants Fenerbahce in the summer, has been talking to clubs in Spain and Italy but dreams of a career swansong in England.
The 34-year-old first moved to the Premier League with Liverpool before winning the 2012 Champions League with Chelsea – and Swansea, Leicester, West Brom and Watford are all considering handing him a second chance on British shores.
Though West Brom have already been snubbed by one Fenerbahce midfielder in the last few weeks – so Tony Pulis should perhaps be wary of history repeating itself.
The Express and Star claimed that The Baggies had agreed a £10.6 million deal for Brazilian midfielder Josef de Souza, only for the 29-year-old to back out of a deal because he was concerned about a lack of playing time at The Hawthorns.
Such a problem should resonate even more with Meireles who, at 34, will not want to be sat on the bench in the autumn days of his career. It is difficult to see the former Portugal international forcing his way into Pulis’ side – which is a testament to the quality at West Brom’s disposal.
Gareth Barry and Grzegorz Krychowiak arrived from Everton and PSG respectively over the summer, joining Jake Livermore, Claudio Yacob, James Morrison and Sam Field, the youngster Pulis rates very highly.
Meireles, then, may find himself some way down the pecking order and, like Souza, should be concerned about collecting splinters rather than precious memories.
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