Tom Cairney’s form this season makes West Brom’s £12m bid a gamble

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West Bromwich Albion are keen to sign Fulham talisman Tom Cairney and have made an opening bid.

According to a report from the Daily Mirror, West Brom are planning to kick their January transfer window into life by making a £12 million bid for Fulham playmaker Tom Cairney.

With the Baggies still in the bottom three in the Premier League, it is crucial that they enjoy a positive window, and the importance of getting their transfer targets right surely increases with the Daily Mail recently reporting that they need to sell some of their players before they can buy.

Perhaps sensing that some money may be coming in, West Brom have made a £12 million offer for Cairney, and the Mirror reports that they could be willing to increase that bid to £15 million.

Given their financial restrictions, it may not be a surprise if the 26-year-old therefore becomes their one marquee permanent addition if they manage to convince the Cottagers to sell – and that arguably makes the move a gamble.

Cairney has been excellent in the Championship, and had the bid come in for him during the summer, £12 million or £15 million would have looked like an absolute steal for the Baggies, with the former Blackburn man scoring 13 times and providing 10 assists in the league to help inspire Fulham to the play-offs.

However, this term, while he has still looked impressive, his goal and assist returns do not jump off the page anywhere near as much, with one goal and two assists in the Championship for Slavisa Jokanovic’s men.

He has proved that he can be prolific in having a direct hand in goals so there is every chance that Alan Pardew could be pulling off an inspired deal if they do manage to get something done.

But perhaps there should be a few more questions right now regarding whether he is the right player to spend presumably a large chunk of their budget on when their position in the top flight is so precarious.