This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

West Bromwich Albion have joined the race for Bournemouth striker Josh King, according to a report from the Daily Mail. 

The Norway international's contract is set to expire in the summer and it appears clubs are queueing up to swoop for him this month.

Aston Villa and West Ham have been touted with an interest, while the Daily Mail has indicated that Albion and Wolves are also keen.

So would he be a good signing for the Baggies? And what should they expect to pay for him?

We quizzed our FLW writers...

Alfie Burns

He would be a good signing, but Allardyce would have to navigate away from his negative tactics and play to King’s strengths.

48 Premier League goals in a rather progressive Bournemouth side isn’t to be sniffed at, so you’ve got to say he’d be a good signing for West Brom.

However, the sticking point is going to be how highly Bournemouth value him given his expiring contract.

It is suggested that Bournemouth are happy that they’ve had their worth out of King, so will only accept an bid that’s too good to turn down this winter and run the risk of losing him for free in the summer.

Do West Brom have the funds to tempt them into a sale? I’m not convinced at all.

Have any of these 22 players ever been in West Brom’s academy?

 

Sam Rourke

When at the top of his game, King is a top Premier League striker.

Obviously, at the moment, King is out of the picture at the Cherries with him making it clear he wants to leave the club, whilst he's also had several injury niggles.

In some respects, it's a bit of a gamble for the Baggies in the fact that they urgently need a new striker to come in and hit the ground running ASAP, to help propel them away from the relegation zone in the top-flight - my question is, can King guarantee that?

I get the feeling he'd need a run of games to get up to speed and the Baggies just cannot afford to waste time, they need goals and points fast.

Anything over £15 million is too much for King in my view, he's 28 and is reaching the latter end of his career so I feel a bid of between £10 million and £12 million is fair for all parties.

Phil Spencer

This would be a fantastic signing.

Josh King is an excellent player who is more than good enough to thrive in the Premier League. His goals record for Bournemouth in recent years shows that.

With a contract that expires at the end of the season, it seems inevitable that he'll be moving on and for West Brom this could be the ideal move.

The Baggies need Premier League quality and King would certainly add that.

Bournemouth are unlikely to stand in his way and so this is one that makes sense - particularly given that he'll be available for a cut-price fee.

With six months left on his deal, it's unlikely that Bournemouth would demand more than £10 million for the player - something that makes his addition very attractive for West Brom.