Should West Brom revive Filip Benkovic interest as Ben Gibson signs long-term Middlesbrough deal?

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West Bromwich Albion were linked with Filip Benkovic and Ben Gibson in the summer.

Back in July, the Daily Mail reported that West Brom were looking at both Ben Gibson and Filip Benkovic as Tony Pulis seemingly attempted to bolster his defensive ranks.

Ultimately neither would be signed by the Baggies, and any hope Pulis had of bringing Gibson in from Middlesbrough appeared to take a massive hit towards the end of last month when it was announced on BBC Sport that the Boro man had signed a new five-year contract at the Riverside Stadium.

So while a move for Gibson may off the table for the time-being, West Brom should perhaps consider reviving their interest in Benkovic during the January transfer window as it could certainly be argued that they need to bolster their options at the back.

The Baggies arguably have one of the thinnest squads in the division anyway, and a number of their defenders have been sidelined at some stage with injury this term.

Benkovic, 20, appears to have an extremely bright future ahead of him, having become a regular in the Dinamo Zagreb side and his value will surely only go up with each window that passes – so West Brom should surely try and make a deal happen in January before the interest intensifies.

And with Benkovic – who was rated at £17 million one year ago, according to The Scottish Sun – scoring three times in 11 games this term, it would appear that he would also be able to cause problems at both ends of the pitch – which, with the Baggies scoring more than once on just two occasions in the Premier League this season, may be especially useful.