According to reports in The Sun, West Bromwich Albion are looking to sign Tottenham Hotspur duo Vincent Janssen and Kevin Wimmer – both valued at £15m by Spurs – in a £30m double swoop before the weekend.
The former only joined the north London outfit last summer from AZ Alkmaar but after struggling to make a positive impact, he could already be on the move with the Baggies keen to bring him to Hawthorns to provide competition for fellow new boy Jay Rodriguez and Salomon Rondon.
The Sun says that the Netherlands international has found it hard living in the shadow of Harry Kane, and he would be more likely to play regularly with Tony Pulis’ men, although the report adds that Stoke City are also keeping tabs on the 23-year-old.
Meanwhile, Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez has been busy strengthening his squad this summer, but after two defeats out of two on their return to the Premier League he may look to add to his attacking options.
Here are three reasons Newcastle should hijack West Brom’s bid for Janssen…
Goals
Yes, I know, but while Newcastle do have the likes of Dwight Gayle and Joselu at their disposal this season, Rafa Benitez may feel that he needs another striker if they are to score the goals to avoid being involved in a relegation battle.
The Magpies have already drawn blanks in their opening two Premier League fixtures against Tottenham and fellow newly-promoted club Huddersfield Town, and the arrival of Joselu from Stoke earlier this month doesn’t guarantee goals considering his previous record.
The 29-year-old has scored just nine league goals in 42 appearances for the Potters and on loan at Deportivo La Coruna over the course of the last two seasons, and Janssen can certainly better that record.
The Dutchman netted 27 in 34 Eredivisie outings for AZ in the 2015/16 campaign, before scoring two in 24 Premier League appearances for Spurs last term.
Potential
He may have struggled to deal with the pressure so far at Tottenham, but you do have to take into consideration that it can take time to adapt to the Premier League when you first move to England, while Janssen also had to deal with being second-choice to Kane.
The 23-year-old did show small glimpses of what he is capable of last season and while he ended the campaign with just six goals in 35 appearances in all competitions, you can’t help but feel that he could do better if he played regularly.
Many strikers are confidence players and if Janssen went on a scoring run there is little doubt that it would be boosted, and he could easily turn out to be a talismanic figure for Newcastle this season if they are willing to take the plunge on him.
Price tag
It is quite evident that Newcastle certainly can’t afford to go out and spend £20m or £30m on a player this summer, but they may feel that Janssen is an option worth pursuing if he is available for £15m.
The Dutchman showed how prolific he can be during his time with AZ and if he can try and recreate that form for another Premier League club like the Magpies, then he could turn out to be a bargain buy and his goals could be the difference between them going down or staying up.
Do you agree, Magpies fans? Let us know below.
