We have picked an XI featuring players that ‘nearly’ signed for West Bromwich Albion.
With Ben Foster out for the first half of the 2015/6 season, Tony Pulis made it clear that he wanted to add depth to his goalkeeping department. West Bromwich Albion turned their attention to Cardiff City stopper David Marshall and it would soon be reported by Sky Sports that a deal to bring in Marshall was “close”. Despite the reports, a failure to agree a fee for the Scottish international meant the move never got over the finish line. Instead, Albion would recruit Anders Lindegaard from Manchester United, and Marshall would join Hull City a year later.
In the same transfer window, Albion came close to bringing in Tottenham Hotspur defender Federico Fazio. The Argentine was spotted arriving at the club for a medical and Pulis spoke openly about the player in his weekly press conference. However, The Guardian reported that the 28-year-old was unable to agree terms, leaving the Baggies to pursue other defensive options.
It was a similar story in January of 2006, when West Brom boss Bryan Robson tried to persuade Middlesbrough defender Ugo Ehiogu to join the Baggies’ fight against relegation. According to The Guardian, the two clubs were locked in prolonged on-off negotiations until a fee was agreed, only for the Ehiogu to turn down the personal terms offered by Albion Chairman Jeremy Peace. The Baggies tried to resurrect the deal as a loan but Boro opted against it.
In 2015, a late swap-deal looked to be on the cards, which would see Graham Dorrans move to Norwich City and Martin Olsson head in the opposite direction. But as Jim White called time on the winter window, there was no confirmation of the transfer scrolling across the yellow ticker. Olsson would remain a Canary after the deal fell through at the last minute, due to the Albion’s refusal to give the player a relegation clause, according to Eastern Daily Press.
West Brom have never been shy of bringing in an injury-prone player with the hopes of transforming their career. That may have been the case for both Abou Diaby and Owen Hargreaves had they not had a late change of heart. After spending time with Roy Hodgson’s squad, Hargreaves opted to be a squad member for Roberto Mancini’s Manchester City. Diaby was also on the verge of joining the Baggies until he was offered a return to France with Marseille.
You could be forgiven for thinking Bryan Robson had completed his first signing as West Brom manager when The Independent reported that Matias Jesus Almeyda had joined the club on a free transfer, in December of 2004. Following a month of relative silence and no sign of the Argentine, it was announced that Almeyda had decided to retire from football due to family problems.
It is rare for a player to cross the West Midlands divide from Molineux to the Hawthorns, but that looked to be the case when Bakary Sako left Wolverhampton Wanderers on a free transfer in 2015. The skillful winger was close to crossing the divide – according to the Birmingham Mail – before deciding on a move to Premier League rivals Crystal Palace instead.
The fight to find – and sign – quality goal scorers is a problem most clubs face during the transfer window. And this task isn’t made any easier when its left to the final minutes of the transfer window. In January of 2015, Carlton Cole was awaiting confirmation of his move to the Hawthorns when news broke that the deal had fallen through, following West Ham United’s failure to secure the signing of Emmanuel Adebayor. The Mirror reported that Cole vented his frustrations at the last minute change of plans by yelling “You’re f****** wrecking my career!” down the phone to Hammers manager Sam Allardyce.
That wasn’t the only time Albion were left disappointed in a deal to bring in a West Ham striker. Last summer, Diafra Sakho was set to join for a club-record fee, before a pre-existing back injury led the Baggies to pull the plug.
Anyone who has long followed West Brom transfer rumours will be familiar with the name Aruna Dindane. The Ivory Coast forward became a mainstay of the Baggies’ rumour-mill from 2004 to 2008. It started when the Albion were willing to break their club-record transfer fee to sign Dindane in 2004, according to The Independent. Four years later, Dindane was once again heavily linked with Albion and manager Tony Mowbray admitted to the Birmingham Mail that there was an interest in the Lens forward. After all the talk, we never got to see Dindane in West Brom colours, but the player would eventually get his move to England with Portsmouth.
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