West Bromwich Albion will be looking to make an encouraging start to the 2021/22 Championship campaign when they head to the Vitality Stadium to face AFC Bournemouth on August 6th.
The Baggies are set to step up their preparations for this particular fixture by facing Walsall in their latest pre-season clash this evening.
Providing that his players are able to make considerable strides in terms of their match fitness in this showdown, West Brom manager Valerien Ismael will fancy his chances of guiding the club to a successful start to the season.
Having already bolstered his squad by securing the services of two fresh faces this summer, the Frenchman may be lining up another move if recent reports are anything to go by.
According to Spanish news outlet AS, West Brom are believed to be interested in sealing a re-union with Celta Vigo midfielder Okay Yokuslu.
It is understood that the La Liga side are looking to sell the midfielder, who has been capped on 37 occasions by Turkey, in order to fund new signings.
Yokuslu is willing to play in a lower division for West Brom who reportedly have a deal in progress that could see the midfielder return to The Hawthorns.
Celta are currently seeking a €5m (£4.2m) fee for Yokuslu who is also attracting a great deal of interest from Premier League side Watford.
Since joining the Spanish outfit in 2018, Yokuslu has only managed to show glimpses of his talent in La Liga.
After being limited to three league starts during the first-half of the previous campaign, the midfielder joined West Brom on a temporary basis earlier this year.
Although he was unable to prevent the Baggies from suffering relegation to the second-tier, Yokuslu did manage to deliver some impressive displays in the top-flight.
GIVEMESPORT's Joshua Cole says...
This could turn out to be a fantastic bit of business by West Brom if they are able to beat Watford to Yokuslu's signature.
During the 16 league games that he played for the Baggies last season, the midfielder managed to average the joint-best WhoScored match rating (6.96) at The Hawthorns.
Yokuslu also ranked in the top-five at the club in terms of tackles made per game (2.4), interceptions (2.2) and average passes per game (33.1).
Whilst West Brom will need to spend a considerable amount of money to seal a deal for the midfielder, it may be worth splashing the cash on him as there is every chance that he will go on to thrive in the Championship under the guidance of Ismael.
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