West Bromwich Albion have identified Peterborough United’s Siriki Dembele as the man to replace Grady Diangana at The Hawthorns, although they will face competition from Sheffield United, according to the Birmingham Mail.
While the Posh look all-but certain to lose their 26-goal top-scorer Ivan Toney at some point during the transfer window, with clubs north and south of the border checking him out, the last thing they need is to see another star man depart the London Stadium.
Dembele certainly rivalled Toney for the status of Peterborough’s stand-out performer during a 2019/20 campaign in which he dazzled plenty of defenders while contributing 15 goals and assists to the cause.
The older brother of Celtic wonderkid Karamoko, Siriki has been turning heads in the lower leagues for some time too.
“He’s a fantastic prospect and I hope he continues his development,” former Premier League hero Harry Kewell told the Grimsby Telegraph in 2017 during his time in charge of Crawley Town.
Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder is always on the lookout for under-the-radar gems and Dembele’s dazzling dribbling ability has caught the eyes of the Steel City giants, according to the Birmingham Mail.
West Brom are also interested, seeing the London-born 23-year-old as the ideal replacement for West Ham loanee Diangana. A free spirit with an eye for the spectacular, he fits Slaven Bilic’s style of play pretty much perfectly.
Peterborough chairman Darragh MacAnthony was as happy as ever to shed a little light on the situation on Twitter, pointing out that Dembele has two years left on his current contract.
That suggests that a summer sale is not exactly necessary – especially with Toney’s departure expected to bring £10 million into the coffers.
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