Report: Bilic wants West Brom to sign London-based duo, including £18m attacker

Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

West Bromwich Albion are planning a summer raid of Brentford with Rico Henry and Ollie Watkins in the sights of the Premier League newcomers, according to Sky.

Slaven Bilic might have led the Baggies back to the Big Time during his debut season in the Hawthorns hotseat but that is only half the battle.

West Brom are desperate to shed their ‘boing boing’ nickname and, to do exactly that, they need to reinforce in a couple of key positions – particularly at centre-forward.

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After all, no one in Bilic’s squad notched more than ten Championship goals in 2019/20.

If Charlie Austin, Kenneth Zohore and co cannot hit the target on a regular basis in the second tier, what chance do they have of reaching double figures in the land of Chelseas, Liverpools and Manchesters?

After firing home a career-best 26 goals for play-off runners-up Brentford, winger-turned-poacher extraordinaire Watkins could solve the biggest issue facing West Brom this summer.

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The only problem, however, is that the £18 million-rated Watkins is keen on a reunion with his former Brentford boss Dean Smith at Aston Villa.

Henry too has been tipped to swap Brentford for Villa, though West Brom will be hoping that he is also tempted by the chance to join another Midands outfit.

As reported by the Telegraph, the Baggies are hoping to sell injury-prone veteran Kieran Gibbs this summer and Henry would represent a young, quicker alternative on the left-hand side.

Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images

In other news, Report: Tottenham told to pay £30m for Callum Wilson as Everton and West Ham join race