West Brom have recently been linked with a move for Peterborough United winger Kwame Poku.
January is quickly approaching and with it comes the steadying influx of transfer news and rumours.
And West Brom have seen their share of rumours emerge in the past fortnight or so; the likes of Ben Brereton Diaz and Callum Styles have been linked, and the latest name said to be on the Baggies’ radar is Poku.
The 22-year-old Peterborough United man is apparently on the radar of several Championship clubs after a strong start to the season with Peterborough United.
TEAMtalk report that Bristol City, Ipswich Town, Millwall, Stoke City, Sunderland, and West nrom are all interested, though Bristol City’s interest has since been played down.
What type of player is Kwame Poku?
Poku is an attacking midfielder by trade, though he often plays on the right wing; he can also operate on the left making him a very versatile attacking player.
Born in Croydon, Poku made his name in non-league before being given his breakthrough at Colchester United where, after two decent, albeit not overly-inspiring seasons, he was snapped up by Peterborough United.
Now in his third season with Posh, Poku has really come to life; he set the tone last season scoring five and assisting eight in League One, and he already has six goals and six assists in 16 appearances this time round.
His side sit in 5th place of the table and Poku is their joint-top scorer.
What West Brom issue would he solve?
Poku’s attributes certainly fit the mould and philosophies that West Brom adopt under Carlos Corberan.
The Baggies‘ front-line is malleable with players in each position scoring and creating goals, so someone like Poku who can play across the midfield and who can both score and create goals seems ideal.
What’s more is that Poku is only 22 years old.
As per Transfermarkt, West Brom have the second-oldest average squad age in the Championship (26.7 years), with a lot of their key attackers either 30 or approaching 30.
Jed Wallace (29), John Swift (28), and Matt Phillips (32) are three key players for West Brom. They’re pivotal to the way that West Brom attack and whilst none are ‘too old’ and all still have plenty to offer, the Baggies hierarchy should certainly have an eye on the future.
And someone at Poku’s age would be ideal. He could come in and learn a lot from the three aforementioned players, and in a few years when one or two might start to slow down, Poku would be at a level where he could come in and potentially take the team to the next level.
He’s certainly got ability and bags of potential for the future. With so many teams interested, and with West Brom not in the best financial predicament, it won’t be an easy pursuit, but Poku certainly seems like the type of player that the Baggies should be targeting.