Three signings West Brom should make on Deadline Day

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Mamadou Sakho (Liverpool)

West Brom have already made an approach to take unwanted Liverpool defender Sakho on loan, but the French international turned down the chance of regular football at the Hawthorns. As the clock ticks down however, it will surely dawn on Sakho that he has little choice but to move on or else spend the season training away from the first team. He and Jurgen Klopp have fallen out; Sakho was sent home from a pre-season tour after turning up late and it seems that their relationship is beyond fixable.

Sakho is a much better defender than he looks. If he played for your team, you would be convinced that a rickett was just round the corner but they never seem to arrive. Sakho cuts an uncomfortable figure with the ball at his, possibly more uncomfortable than any Premier League footballer in living memory. He isn’t the best technically (though his pass completion rate was 88% last season), but then that’s an aspect of the game Pulis does not prioritise when identifying defensive targets. He is strong in the air, a good tackler and a genuine offensive threat from set pieces. Playing under Pulis is a bit like staying at the Ritz if you’re a defender; everything is done to accommodate you and your needs and even quite average defenders can be made to look solid within his defensive structure. Sakho would flourish at West Brom.