Tony Pulis not leaving West Brom despite tension over transfers

A statement released by new chairman John Williams yesterday hinted at tensions between Pulis and the board over transfer dealings.

The Baggies head coach wanted to add five permanent first-team players to his squad in the last two weeks of the transfer window, but even though four new faces were brought in, only club-record signing Nacer Chadli set supporters' pulses racing.

Everton loanee Brendan Galloway is a promising young defender but is a temporary solution at left-back, and the only deadline day deals Albion completed were for £3million right-back Allan Nyom and free agent Hal Robson-Kanu.

In the wake of an uninspiring summer of business, reports emerged that Pulis - who walked out of Crystal Palace over transfer dealings - was considering his position at the club.

However, sources close to the 58-year-old, whose contract runs out at the end of the season, suggest he is frustrated with Albion's business in the summer but committed to the job in hand and eager to right the wrongs of this window come January.

As teams around them strengthened significantly, and with the new pot of TV money looming at the end of the season, many Baggies fans expected an exciting, marquee signing to emerge on deadline day.

Albion had agreed a £15m deal with Malaga for defensive midfielder Ignacio Camacho before Pulis decided for 'footballing reasons' not to go through with it.

The Baggies then lodged a £21m bid for Sporting Lisbon's William Carvalho but walked away when the Portuguese side told them the Euro 2016 winner would cost £35m.

Williams confirmed those negotiations in his statement, which hinted at tensions between Pulis and the board.

He said: "Our head coach Tony Pulis is very selective and particular about the players he recruits so it follows that the new team members will add significantly to his first-team options. Tony wanted five and we got five.

"That having been said, the one disappointment we suffered was not being able to add a further quality midfield player.

"We were a long way down the road with a deal, which for the second time in the window would have broken the club transfer record, thanks to the on-going support of Jeremy Peace and Guochuan Lai.

"But it was decided for footballing reasons not to pursue this. Despite it being late in the window, we decided to pursue another high-quality target. Unfortunately, we were not able to get the deal over the line."

However, there may be some light at the end of the tunnel for Pulis, as Williams gave supporters an assurance that the club would look to strengthen again in January.

"It does mean we can re-group if a suitable new deal presents itself in January when we will be ready to act," he said.

Outgoing chairman Jeremy Peace was always shy of doing business in the January transfer window, but Albion's Chinese takeover is due to be ratified at the start of October and by then Peace will not be holding the purse-strings.