West Bromwich Albion's attempts to recruit free agent Mohamed Diame have been harmed by the fact the midfielder is unlikely to be able to secure a work permit, according to the Daily Express.

A report from TEAMtalk earlier this month revealed the 34-year-old had been offered to the Baggies as they look to strengthen their squad further ahead of a promotion push, with former Huddersfield Town wide man Isaac Mbenza also said to be have been made available.

Former England international Jack Wilshere was one man on the second-tier side's radar, although Steve Bruce's time with Diame at Hull City may have given the latter an advantage over the ex-Arsenal man who has struggled with injuries throughout his career.

 

 

And Bruce has seemingly made a move for the former Senegal international with his side in desperate need of more depth in the midfield area, especially after a formation switch that has seen Albion move away from 3-4-3.

Although youngster Taylor Gardner-Hickman has shown he can play in the middle of the park when required, the Championship club's manager only has captain Jake Livermore, Alex Mowatt and Brighton loanee Jayson Molumby as senior, orthodox central midfield options when all are available.

This season has already exposed their lack of depth in this position on numerous occasions - and the departure of Robert Snodgrass at the end of last month hasn't exactly helped matters in terms of addressing this issue.

It has now been revealed that post-Brexit rules on work permits have now made this deal 'virtually impossible' to conclude - and the Baggies may be forced to look elsewhere because of this.

The Verdict:

Although the fact the Baggies' hierarchy spent £7m on Daryl Dike has to be acknowledged, the fact they were unable to get a central midfielder over the line during the January window is poor and there can be no excuses for this lack of action.

They may not want to block Gardner-Hickman's path - but he's likely to get plenty of opportunities to shine at full-back in the coming years and Snodgrass' transfer status was known way back in November, so they had plenty of time to draw up a list of targets to pursue.

It almost seems as though they were banking on Valerien Ismael remaining at the club - but even if the Frenchman had stayed put at The Hawthorns - he still didn't have enough options despite only operating with two central midfielders.

This goes to show how badly they needed to address this position, not just to cover for injuries and suspensions but also for Covid-19 cases with the virus causing havoc for teams back in December.

Strengthening this position would also increase competition and with that, enhance performance levels so it's a no-brainer for the second-tier side to scout the transfer market in a bid to add depth and quality.