West Bromwich Albion have been dealt a blow in their bid to bring Jonson Clarke-Harris to The Hawthorns this summer.
What’s the talk?
That’s according to a claim made by Darragh MacAnthony, with the Peterborough United chairman revealing in a post on Twitter that the centre-forward looks set to remain at the Weston Homes Stadium next season.
Clarke-Harris has been heavily linked with a move away from the newly-promoted Championship side this summer, with West Brom, Bournemouth, Sheffield United and Rangers all thought to be keen on the 27-year-old.
However, it would appear as if this reported interest could have hit a dead end as, in response to Posh a fan suggesting that the forward would need replacing in the summer transfer window, MacAnthony said: “No he won’t.”
Should West Brom have taken a risk on JCH?
Yes
No
Fans will be fuming
With Mbaye Diagne having returned to Galatasaray upon the expiry of his loan deal at West Brom at the end of last season, and with the club so far having failed to replace the 29-year-old with a new centre-forward signing this summer, that a deal for Clarke-Harris now appears to be dead in the water is sure to have left Albion fans fuming.
When taking into account the success Brentford enjoyed after signing Ivan Toney from Peterborough 12 months ago – with the striker bagging 33 goals over 48 Championship appearances on the way to the Bees’ promotion – West Brom signing Clarke-Harris could well have replicated Thomas Frank’s move for the 25-year-old.
Indeed, over his 44 League One appearances last season, the £900k-rated marksman scored a whopping 31 goals, provided three assists and created 11 big chances for his teammates, taking 2.9 shots and making one key pass per game.
These returns saw the £6.1k-per-week centre-forward earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.24, ranking him as Darren Ferguson’s second-best performer in the third tier of English football.
It may have been something of a gamble for a team with Premier League aspirations such as West Brom to sign a player who is relatively unproven at Championship level. However, considering that the same thing could have been said about Brentford’s signing of Toney last year, and that the £25.2m-rated man is now worth more than five times the £5.04m fee the Bees paid for the striker, Clarke-Harris would seem to have been a risk worth taking for Valerien Ismael and his side.
In other news: West Brom agree deal for £20k-p/w “leader” which will leave Ismael over the moon