Derby County's move for Charlie Austin could be impacted by the news that West Brom forward Hal Robson-Kanu is facing a spell out injured.

It was revealed this morning that the Wales international has suffered a broken arm and will require surgery. Whilst a return date hasn't been confirmed, it clearly will keep him out for some time.

That leaves Slaven Bilic extremely short on options up top, with the Albion chief desperate for at least one number nine through the door before the deadline in ten days time.

So, it seems unlikely that Austin's potential switch to Derby, which had been lined up over the weekend, will be signed off until Bilic knows who he will be working with moving forward.

However, the 31-year-old is way down the pecking order at The Hawthorns and has yet to play a minute in the top-flight this season - and he hasn't even made the bench since the opening day defeat to Leicester.

This will be a potential blow for the Rams who are low on numbers up top as well having lost Chris Martin in the summer.

Quiz: Can you name these 10 ex-Derby County midfielders?

The verdict

Obviously, this is bad news for Derby and it shows the risks that come with transfers as things can change at any time if a deal isn't finalised.

You can't imagine that the Baggies are going to let Austin go until they get at least one striker signed because of Robson-Kanu's injury and that search has been hugely frustrating for Bilic.

So, this one could run on right until the deadline now, meaning Cocu and the recruitment team need to have other targets in mind.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.