Premiership: Ideye, Anichebe going… going…

West Brom manager Tony Pulis has hinted at a possible sale of Nigerian duo Brown Ideye and Victor Anichebe as he attempts to rebuild the team.

Ideye, who became the club record signing when he joined from Dynano Kiev for £10m last summer, Anichebe and Georgios Samaras top the list of players to be sold by West Brom.

Ideye is likely to be the most high-profile casualty and has already been the subject of inquiries from clubs in France and Russia.

The Baggies are likely to let him leave on loan initially but could sell if they receive an acceptable offer.

Anichebe, a £5m signing from Everton in September 2013, is also vulnerable while Samaras has proven a huge disappointment since arriving from Celtic on a free transfer.

Pulis wants at least four new signings in the January window and was in discussions with chairman Jeremy Peace and technical director Terry Burton over transfer targets on Wednesday.

But the new Albion head coach has insisted he wants to keep £20 million-rated forward Saido Berahino at the Hawthorns. Berahino scored four goals in the FA Cup demolition of Gateshead last weekend and is on the radar of Liverpool.

Pulis has admitted every player has a price but believes keeping the England Under-21 international could prove crucial in his battle against relegation.

He told The Telegraph, “Everybody has got their price, you look at Luis Suárez with Liverpool and Gareth Bale leaving Tottenham – if a club comes in for them it’s very difficult to stop them from going. But I’m very much looking forward to working with Saido and he is somebody we can build the team around.

“I’ve spoken to him this week and the most important thing that he can do is make the most of his talent.

“He has to understand and recognise that to be a professional athlete, and a good professional athlete, you have to be disciplined, and that’s most probably the way the conversation went.

“If you are asking me whether I want to sell him now, not at all because he has been absolutely first class.”

Pulis takes charge of his first league game today with the visit of Hull City, whose manager, Steve Bruce admits his appointment was “the worst thing” that could happen to the other managers at relegation-threatened clubs.

“I mean that in a respectful way to Tony,” Brice said.

“His tenure at Crystal Palace was nothing short of sensational. I think I said a year ago for all the teams at the bottom it was a bad appointment for us and I think we will all think that against West Brom.”

Punch, January 15, 2015

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