While West Bromwich Albion are far from cut adrift at the top of the Premier League table, the manner of their defeat to rivals Aston Villa in Sam Allardyce's first game in charge was concerning. 

Though it'd be unfair to judge the newly-appointed Baggies boss just yet given he had barely taken a training session when an impressive Villa rocked up at The Hawthorns, he was reported to have threatened Jake Livermore's status as captain due to the lack of discipline shown in his sending off.

So, the January transfer window looks hugely important in deciding their fate. 

Allardyce has already been linked with moves for the likes of Andy Carroll and James Tomkins with Dean Jones suggesting the club were prepared to offer players a big incentive to join their battle to beat the drop. 

That profile of player would obviously represent experienced Premier League signings but it's a man to have never played in England's top division touted with a move more recently. 

Indeed, according to the Daily Mail, Motherwell's Declan Gallagher is of interest to the former Bolton boss ahead of the New Year sales. 

The Scotland international (valued at £450k by Transfermarkt) is out of contract at Fir Park in the summer so could potentially come in as a cut-price option in order to help shore up a defence that has conceded 29 goals already. 

West Brom transfer news

GIVEMESPORT's Jonathan Gorrie says... 

The idea of signing a player from a side currently marooned in mid-table in the Scottish Premiership may not instantly prove exciting but Gallagher has been impressive on the international stage. 

During Scotland's dramatic win over Serbia in November, the 29-year-old was praised for his ability to largely shut down an attack including Aleksandar Mitrovic and Dusan Tadic and has looked dominant in the air at domestic level. 

In fact, only one West Brom player averages as many successful aerial duels as him (3.9 per game via WhoScored) in Darnell Furlong and that kind of ability to offer a presence off the ground could potentially help replace Ahmed Hegazi. 

The Egpytian's sale is thought to have angered Slaven Bilic and he was averaging 5 duels won per game before his departure, so extra help on that front could be useful.  

The Athletic also reported how teams in England were taking note of the Scottish market following the success of Andy Robertson and John McGinn, so taking a wider look than simply signing a player from a mid-table Scottish team is in order.