Baggies step up hunt for Zheng

Albion will step up their pursuit of Charlton midfielder Zheng Zhi next week after China were dumped from the Olympics.

The China captain will head back to London in the next few days keen to sort out his future after several weeks of speculation.

And that could spark increased urgency in the Baggies' talks with the Addicks over the 27-year-old, who is valued at around £2m by the south London club.

Zheng is near the top of Albion boss Tony Mowbray's wanted list as he looks to further strengthen his squad before the end of the transfer window.

But the transfer had been put on the 'back burner' due to the player's involvement in the Olympics in his homeland.

But China's early exit could now speed up the pace of discussions with Charlton boss Alan Pardew under pressure to reduce the wagebill at The Valley as the Addicks count the cost of missing out on promotion to the Premier League last season.

The clubs have been negotiating for a while over Zheng, who joined Charlton permanently a year ago for £2m, although behind the scenes they say reports last week of a formal bid being rejected were wide of the mark.

Zheng is seen potentially as the specialist defensive midfielder that Tony Mowbray has been keen to add to his squad.

Mowbray has discussions ongoing over several other players. He still hopes to recruit West Ham defender James Collins either on loan or in a permanent deal before the end of the transfer window. But the Wales international is currently in the final stages of recovering from a knee injury.

And Mowbray is a confirmed admirer of Rangers midfielder Kevin Thomson but reports from Scotland suggest he is not on the Ibrox 'for sale' list.