Fulham bid £2.5 million for the Montpellier forward last summer but he would cost West Brom far more now.
When Salomon Rondon emulated Duncan Ferguson’s 1997 feat and plundered a hat-trick of headers, the Venezuelan appeared to cement his place among the league’s most feared forwards.
Since that mid-December treble against Swansea City, however, the 27-year-old has endured almost 1000 goalless minutes in the Premier League. No wonder, then, that Foot 365 claim West Brom are tracking Montpellier’s in-form frontman Steve Mounie.
The 22-year-old Benin international is in the form of his life in Ligue 1, scoring 13 goals in 27 appearances in his first full season in the French top tier. In fact, only Edinson Cavani, Alexandre Lacazette, Radamel Falcao and Bafetimbi Gomis have more in 2016/17.
It was only a matter of time before Mounie, who netted in five consecutive games recently, came to Premier League attention. Quick, powerful and a beast in the air, he appears a prototype Tony Pulis forward and, if the early impressions are anything to go by, a potential upgrade on the currently out-of-form Rondon.
The fact that 37-year-old Gareth McCleary is currently West Brom’s top scorer means it’s hardly a mystery where the club needs to strengthen in the summer, particularly now Sadio Berahino has gone and Hal Robson-Kanu has found the net only twice all season.
Foot 365 report that Middlesbrough, the league’s lowest scorers, are understandably interested but the prospect of relegation is likely to have an impact on the deal.
Leicester City, meanwhile, will surely appear a more tempting proposition. Islam Slimani has failed to fire consistently since arriving on a club record deal last summer and Mounie, similar in style and stature, could be viewed as a potential replacement.
However, he is likely to command a far higher fee than the £2.5 million Fulham bid for his services last summer, as reported by the Daily Mail.
The publication claimed that Mounie had caught the eye of Slavisa Jokanovic after scoring 11 times on loan at Ligue 2 outfit Nimes but, after a superb breakthrough season, he appears to be far beyond Fulham’s reach.
West Brom is now a far more likely destination.
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