According to the Express and Star, West Brom are so far refusing to budge on their £20m asking price for defender Craig Dawson, with The Mirror reporting that Celtic and Leicester are both interested.
What’s the story?
The Mirror also reports that Dawson has been excluded from West Brom training by manager Darren Moore after the centre-back submitted a transfer request at the start of July following the Baggies’ relegation from the Premier League.
In the Express and Star’s report they claim that Dawson and striker Jay Rodriguez were the subject of a joint £25m bid from Burnley which was rejected by the Baggies. They also say that the hierarchy at West Brom see Alfie Mawson’s imminent £20m move to Fulham as further proof that they have valued their man correctly.
However, if Dawson is training alone and will not be included in the squad by Moore for their opening game of the Championship season against Bolton this weekend, as The Mirror seems to suggest, then it would be wise for West Brom to offload him and bring in a replacement before the window shuts on August 9.
An ideal replacement
If West Brom do decide to eventually let Dawson leave, they should look to replace him with Chelsea’s Czech defender Tomas Kalas. The 25-year-old has only made four appearances for the Blues having been on six separate loan spells in his eight years with the club.
For the past two seasons, Kalas has been on loan in the Championship with Fulham and The Daily Star reported earlier in the transfer window that he and fellow Chelsea loanee Lucas Piazon were to make their switches to Craven Cottage permanent, but as of yet neither have been confirmed.
Kalas made 36 appearances for Fulham last season, helping the West London side to promotion to the Premier League via the playoffs. An assured centre-back with a good turn of pace and the ability to read the game, the Czech Republic international should be the first name on Moore’s list of potential replacements for Dawson.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”275402″ player=”12034″ title=”Should Spurs Fans Be Concerned By Lack Of Transfers”]
