West Brom’s move for Ipswich Town striker Ali Al-Hamadi has broken down following failed talks between the two clubs earlier today, according to new reports.
Al-Hamadi has struggled for minutes at Portman Road so far this season due to the form of star man Liam Delap, and is understandably seeking a move away this month after he failed to seal an expected exit in the summer window.
He joined the Tractor Boys in the last January window from AFC Wimbledon, and went on to net four times in 14 Championship games as they won promotion to the Premier League, but he has only played 11 times in the top-flight so far, with all of those appearances coming from the bench.
West Brom are firmly in the play-off race as it stands, and while Tony Mowbray’s recent re-appointment as manager has been met with excitement at The Hawthorns, their squad was dealt a huge blow last week with news that top-scorer Josh Maja is set to be sidelined for the foreseeable future with a leg injury.
The Baggies are now in the market for a new striker, but after reports had emerged that Iraqi international Al-Hamadi was set to join the club this week, it now looks as if the deal is off, and they will have to focus their attention elsewhere.
Claims around Al-Hamadi’s imminent arrival at The Hawthorns first emerged on Tuesday morning, with the Express & Star reporting that the Baggies were eyeing a deal to bring the 22-year-old in on loan from Ipswich for the rest of the season.
Despite those claims, East Anglian Daily Times reporter Stuart Watson has now stated that the move has broken down, and he will not be joining the Championship club this month.
Ipswich outlet TWTD have also reported that the progress of the deal had previously been overstated, with claims that Al-Hamadi was with the Baggies to undergo a medical regarding a loan proving to be false.
They claim that he had, however, held talks with Tony Mowbray’s side regarding a permanent switch, but with no deal agreed between the two clubs, as discussions regarding the potential transfer then subsequently broke down in the afternoon.
The Baggies have not exactly been free-scoring this season, but their play-off chasing position has been built upon a strong defensive unit and the attack being centered around Josh Maja, yet one of Mowbray’s first issues that he must address as boss is coming up with new ways for his side to find the net.
The former Sunderland frontman has scored 12 goals in 26 Championship appearances for West Brom so far this season, with Karlan Grant having only bagged half as many in the league, and the likes of Tom Fellows, Mikey Johnston, Grady Diangana and backup striker Devante Cole all struggling to net on a regular basis up to now.
In their first game without the 26-year-old against Stoke City last time out, interim head-coach Chris Brunt lined up with Grant as the main striker in a 4-2-3-1, with that aforementioned trio behind him trying to score and create.
The Potters held the Baggies to a 1-1 draw at The Hawthorns, however, as Brunt’s men had 23 shots on Viktor Johansson’s goal, but only forced him into three saves, so it is clear that they are in real need of a new centre-forward to come in and start games every week and hopefully try to replicate Maja’s scoring form.
It looked as if Al-Hamadi would be that man, yet he will now seemingly not be on his way to the West Midlands this month, and both he and the Baggies are set to be left to explore their respective second-choice options.
