West Brom will delve into loan market for strikers if Jonny Evans stays

The Baggies still have both available spots for UK loans available and can also bring in a temporary signing from abroad after making Ahmed Hegazi’s move permanent in December.

Although the club need to sell to buy anyone permanently, they do have enough funds to bring in a loan player until the end of the season.

Liverpool frontman Danny Ings is top of Alan Pardew’s wanted list, but Albion face competition from several other clubs, so other strikers are being explored.

The Premier League’s short term cost control rules restrict clubs to £7million increases in their wage bills each season, although clubs can overspend in line with increases in commercial revenue.

Albion brought in six new faces in the summer, and agreed to pay Grzegorz Krychowiak’s £108,000-a-week wage packet, while losing the salaries of Darren Fletcher, Sebastien Pocognoli and Craig Gardner.

It leaves the board with enough wiggle room to bring in a loan player on roughly £50,000 a week, but not enough to pay another loanee £100,000 a week like Krychowiak.

Short term cost control means Albion’s wage bill has nearly hit the ceiling, but selling Evans will free up another £70,000 a week for new additions.

The skipper is the only player Baggies boss Alan Pardew will realistically be able to cash in on this month.

Nacer Chadli is injured until March and James McClean, who has previously interested Burnley, is not for sale.

Arsenal and Manchester City have enquired about Evans, but are yet to firm up their interest with formal offers.

Pardew had hoped to get an attacker early in the window in order to kick-start a run of form.

“When I have gone into clubs before I have never really not had an instant impact, particularly offensively, and that’s where the team has struggled a bit,” he admitted. “That comes from long run of not winning.

“It is still the thing that needs to be rectified if we are to stay in the Premier League. I’m afraid that is not good enough, we have got to score more goals.”

However, reports from Turkey that the Baggies bid £5m for former Wigan striker Hugo Rodallega are believed to be wide of the mark.