Who can West Bromwich Albion sell to raise money for Alan Pardew to make his own signings this January?
Sky Sports adds that Fulham midfielder Tom Cairney is a target but is likely to cost at least £15m, and that enquiries for a number of other players have been made.
Here are three players that Pardew may look to sell to raise funds for his own signings…
Oliver Burke
The 20-year-old winger only arrived at The Hawthorns from RB Leipzig for £15m in the summer – fee reported by BBC Sport – but West Brom’s poor form has made it hard for them to blood the youngster, who has also suffered from a couple of injuries.
Burke has made eight Premier League appearances this season, with just one coming as a starter, and has been in and out of Pardew’s matchday squads. Despite a lack of game time, his market value will still be high due to the potential that he showed in Germany, and at Nottingham Forest, so he could bring in some decent cash.
West Brom may be reluctant to sell as they sell the Scottish prospect, but they are in dire need of players who can make an immediate impact and, with Nacer Chadli injured and not on the market, may be forced into doing business.
Claudio Yacob
With Cairney seemingly on Pardew’s shortlist, it is clear that Pardew feels he needs something in different in the centre of the park, where he has plenty of holding midfielders but is missing someone who is forward thinking.
After finding himself out of favour in the first half of the season, Yacob has been brought back into the fold by Pardew, but he is still dispensable with Gareth Barry, Jake Livermore and Grzegorz Krychowiak in the squad.
The long-serving Argentine has been at the Baggies six years but his time might be up this month.
Jonny Evans
In an ideal world, Pardew would not want to lose his best player in the middle of a relegation battle, but Evans is West Brom’s most valuable asset and could pocket them a juicy £30m, according to The Times.
That figure could allow Pardew to bring in two or three players to make his squad more well-rounded, with Ahmed Hegazi, Craig Dawson and Gareth McAuley providing good enough cover at centre-back. Conceding goals has not been a major problem – they have the second best defence outside of the top seven in the table.
BBC Sport understands that both Manchester City and Arsenal are keeping tabs on Evans’ availability.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
