West Brom ask Bournemouth to slap a price on Marc Wilson
Albion will ask Bournemouth to slap a price-tag on Marc Wilson as Tony Pulis looks into the possibility of signing the Cherries loanee on a permanent deal.
Wilson has remained an unused substitute for most of his stint in the West Midlands but has now featured in the last three games.
Albion only have four senior defenders on the books, and Pulis is hoping to sign a centre-back and a left-back this summer.
But Wilson’s versatility and relatively cheap price is becoming a viable option to boost numbers of a squad desperately short of bodies.
Bournemouth bought the 29-year-old off Stoke City last summer for £2million, but Wilson never settled on the south coast and was rarely used by Eddie Howe.
Stressed from moving away from his wife and newborn son, Wilson has now moved back to his family home in Knutsford.
Happier on and off the field, Wilson is eager to stay at the Baggies next season.
He still has a year left on his Bournemouth contract, but it’s believed the Cherries will only want to recuperate around £1m for a player who has failed to impress Howe.
The Bournemouth boss never used him in a Premier League match, and hooked him off at half-time during a 3-2 defeat against Preston North End in the League Cup.
Pulis knows Wilson from his time at Stoke, and is a fan of his ability to play across the back-line.
Confirming he was interested in the possibility of taking him on full-time, Albion’s head coach said: “That’s up to Bournemouth. We want to wait until the end of the season and then we’ll have a look.”
Wilson is right-footed but has been playing left-back in the last few games.
He is just the latest player to be shoe-horned into that position during Pulis’s time at the club.
Albion’s head coach is keen to bring in Charlie Taylor this summer in order to plug that gap, and the left-back is ready to sign for the Baggies.
But Leeds United have now offered the 23-year-old a two-year contract, which they don’t expect him to sign, in order to safeguard his value at tribunal.
Albion are in talks with the Championship club over compensation, but will pull out if they can’t agree a fee with Leeds and the issue heads for a tribunal.
