‘I was certainly shocked’ – West Brom make seven-figure offer in bid to secure reunion: The verdict | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict’ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

West Bromwich Albion have made a €5 million (£4.27m) offer for Galatasaray striker Mbaye Diagne after he impressed on loan last season, according to Turkish outlet Ajansspor.

The striker joined on loan in January but Albion opted against triggering the option-to-buy in the deal after they were relegated.

It seems they’re still interested in him, however, and are understood to have made a seven-figure offer.

That is said to be €2 million (£1.78m) short, though there is thought to be middle ground to be found.

So, would Diagne be a good signing? And would he fit under new manager Valerien Ismael?

Our FLW writers share their thoughts…

Chris Gallagher

This would be an excellent bit of business if Albion could pull it off.

Some fans will rightly point out that Diagne wasn’t clinical enough for the team last season in the Premier League, and that’s a fair assessment. However, he still brought a lot to the team with his physicality and the way he linked play.

More importantly, he got a lot of chances in the top-flight, so you would imagine that he would have plenty of opportunities in the Championship. Therefore, I think he could be the 20+ goal striker that all promotion hopefuls crave.

At Barnsley, Ismael wanted to play with a focal point, someone who would occupy the opposition defence and give the team a presence, so Diagne fits the bill on that front.

This would be a brilliant signing for a Championship club, so Albion should do all they can to finalise this transfer if it’s possible as I thought Diagne would get a Premier League move.

The higher or lower West Brom transfer fee quiz – can you get 20/20?

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Ben Wignall

I was certainly shocked to see that a bid had been placed for Diagne as I felt as though he would have been out of reach for the Baggies following their relegation to the Championship.

Apparently, though that is not the case and even though he only scored three goals in 16 games in the Premier League, Diagne definitely had something about him that showed that he belonged in the top flight.

Valerien Ismael has always liked a physical presence in his side up-front – that was evident when Daryl Dike was brought in mid-season at Barnsley and he proved to be a revelation and I suppose that the Baggies already have a unit in their squad in Kenneth Zohore.

His future though remains up in the air and if Diagne is available and West Brom are willing to pay Galatasaray’s asking price, then they should really press ahead with the deal as I feel as though he will be a massive goalscoring threat in the Championship.

Toby Wilding

I do think that this could actually be a rather good piece of business for West Brom.

Diagne was a fairly useful player while on loan with the Baggies in the Premier League last season, so he ought to have the quality to make an impact in the Championship.

Indeed, given he already knows the club well from that loan spell, it could well be easy for him settle back in at The Hawthorns, while it may also be a popular signing amongst the club’s fanbase.

Given he is also a rather physical striker similar to what Darryl Dike, who was so effective for Ismael at Barnsley last season, you also feel as though Diagne could be able to fit in rather well with the 45-year-old’s side at West Brom.

As a result, I do think this could be a deal worth pursuing for the Baggies, especially when you add in the fact that recent links with Premier League clubs could make this something of a coup for them.