West Bromwich Albion are keen to sign Brighton goalkeeper David Button in a £1 million deal after missing out on Ivo Grbic to Atletico Madrid, according to the Express and Star.
While Baggies boss Slaven Bilic was happy to publicly express his admiration for a young Croatian shot-stopper, no one can really blame Grbic for choosing Madrid over the Midlands in the end.
The £5 million glovesman rejected West Brom’s advances before putting pen to paper at the Wanda Metropolitano, where he is expected to act as a back-up behind Jan Oblak in Diego Simeone’s squad.
But West Brom have wasted no time at all in identifying an alternative – one who is not only £4 million cheaper but also boasts plenty of English football experience on a nomadic CV.
Button did not play a single minute of Premier League football during his debut season at Brighton but the 31-year-old was a regular between the sticks at Fulham and Brentford in the Championship.
And, according to the Express and Star, Brighton could be willing to listen to offers of around £1 million with Button identified as the man capable of challenging the somewhat inconsistent Sam Johnstone for a place in Bilic’s starting XI.
After spending 12 months stuck on the bench at the Amex, you would imagine that the one-time Tottenham youngster will be desperate to play regular football again, although ousting Johnstone may be easier said than done.
Button played perhaps the best football of his career under Dean Smith, the current coach of West Brom’s Midland rivals Aston Villa, at Brentford.
“We tried to get David to sign a new contract,” Smith told the BBC in 2016 when Button was sold to Fulham for ‘economic’ reasons. “I’d spoken to him a number of times about it.”
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
