West Brom Opinion: Beating Leeds to the signature of Jamal Lowe could help the Baggies
According to the Daily Star, West Brom are interested in securing the services of Portsmouth winger Jamal Lowe, with reports claiming that Leeds United and Middlesbrough are also plotting a swoop for the 24-year-old star.
Lowe, though, has more suitors in the Championship, with Sky Sports claiming that Wigan Athletic, as well as newly-relegated Cardiff City, are also keen to bring the winger to the second-tier this summer.
However, Portsmouth are prepared to play hardball with any potential suitor for their star attacker, and according to claims from London News Online, the League One outfit have slapped a £3 million price tag on the 24-year-old.
Lowe made eyeballs turn with his consistently impressive displays in the third-tier this past season, as the 24-year-old former non-league star racked up a staggering 15 goals and 9 assists in 45 League One appearances to help Portsmouth to a fourth-place finish.
Kenny Jackett’s side lost out to Sunderland in the playoff semi-finals and missed the chance to secure promotion to the Championship but Lowe might get an opportunity to test his credentials at a higher level next term, with so many Championship clubs interested in the prolific winger.
The 24-year-old Harrow-born attacker played for a host of non-league sides, including Hayes and Yeading United, Boreham Wood, Hitchin Town, St. Albans City, Farnborough, Hemel Hempstead Town and Hampton & Richmond Borough before joining Portsmouth in League Two back in the summer of 2016.
Lowe helped Portsmouth secure promotion to League One in his very first season and has shown strong signs of promise in the third-tier ever since the start of the 2017-18 campaign.
Well, there might be a lot of difference between League One and the Championship, both in terms of quality and intensity, but Lowe’s exploits for Portsmouth last term certainly deserves a lot of credit.
Fifteen goals and nine assists is quite a remarkable tally for a wide player, and at 24, the time might just be right for him to take the next big step in his career, given that he has already proven himself to be head and shoulders above League One standards.
To put things into perspective, Jamal Lowe could be an exciting signing for both the promotion hopefuls and the price tag should not be a big issue for either of the aforementioned clubs.
While Leeds should look at him as a replacement for the likes of departing loanees Jack Harrison and Izzy Brown, Lowe’s arrival would add a lot of pace, creativity and firepower to West Brom’s attack.
Keeping that in mind, West Brom should look to get one over their promotion rivals and beat off competition from Leeds United in the race to sign the highly-rated Portsmouth winger.
The Baggies need to show a lot of ambition in the transfer market following the appointment of Slaven Bilic as the permanent manager and Lowe might prove to be a handy signing for the Midlands outfit.
West Brom are currently short of cover in their attacking options following the return of loanees Dwight Gayle, Jacob Murphy and Jefferson Montero to Newcastle United and Swansea City respectively.
Jay Rodriguez has been heavily linked with a return to the Premier League this summer, whilst Salomon Rondon is unlikely to return to the Hawthorns to play in the Championship.
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While a proven and tested attacker certainly fits the bill better, bringing in Lowe could help West Brom cope with the departure of Murphy and Montero.
The 24-year-old’s pace and trickery would bring that X-factor and unpredictability to the Baggies attack, while also adding to squad depth and increasing competition for places. That said, West Brom should go all out in their pursuit of the prolific League One star this summer.
