West Bromwich Albion clinched an entertaining 3-2 victory in their final runout before the Championship season kicks off against Spanish visitors Rayo Vallecano.
Not much can often be dissected from these summer runouts, as the main priority will always be to get fitness into the legs, but Ryan Mason will hope his side can follow up this win with one or two more across the daunting opening matches in the league.
The 33-year-old will be equal parts nervous and excited as he embarks on his first proper season as a rookie head coach, with more new signings likely to be in the pipeline before September’s deadline to help Mason navigate these choppy waters.
Unfortunately, he won’t be able to convince Tottenham Hotspur prodigy Mikey Moore to move to the West Midlands, even with the bonus of Mason’s Spurs connections being on their side.
West Brom's failed pursuit of Mikey Moore
It looked nailed on that the 17-year-old attacker was going to be West Brom’s next statement capture, having already impressed the Baggies masses by signing Aune Heggebo for £4.7m from Brann, alongside ex-Liverpool centre-back Nat Phillips also catching the eye as a reinforcement defensively.
However, this deal is no longer one that is feasible to get over the line, with Scottish giants Rangers pipping the Baggies to the in-demand teenager’s signature over Mason’s men, amid a battle also once forming for his signature from Birmingham City.
This is a body blow to the second-tier outfit, with Moore no doubt ready to explode into life even more away from his limited senior chances back at Spurs, having previously collected a staggering 17 goals and 12 assists from just 22 U18 Premier League appearances in North London.
Of course, there is the worry that the teenage sensation will falter away from that Spurs bubble, as the Baggies now attempt to forget about any move falling through by looking to snap up this other exciting attacker instead.
West Brom can forget Moore by signing "sublime" star
Moore is the flavour of the month, but there’s no guarantee he would be an instant success story in the Championship, away from already bagging a senior goal at Spurs during a fleeting Europa League runout.
Instead, the Baggies could be better off going after an attacking star who already knows what it takes to excel at such a demanding level in the form of AFC Bournemouth forward David Brooks – a player who once cost the Cherries £11.5m back in 2018, having later been valued at £40m amid rival Premier League interest.
West Brom had previously been tipped to make a loan move for the former Sheffield United attacker this summer, but no such move came to fruition in the end, even as the deal hung in the balance at the advanced stages.
His eventual arrival onto the scene, if a move were to get back into motion, would allow for West Brom to forget about Moore in an instant, as the Welshman has more than shown his obvious class in the testing division previously.
AFC Bournemouth
39
6
6
Sheffield United
30
3
5
Southampton
17
2
5
The 17-year-old Ibrox-bound attacker, on the contrary, has never experienced what the testing terrain of the second tier is like, even if he does look ready for an opportunity in such a division.
Therefore, going after Brooks – especially on a loan basis – feels like a more savvy move on West Brom’s end over ruminating too much over losing out on Moore, particularly when you also consider the 28-year-old can play through the middle and on both wings, much like his young Gers counterpart.
His former Bournemouth boss, Eddie Howe, even labelled Brooks as a “sublime” talent when he was first cutting his teeth on the South Coast, with his standout stint in South Yorkshire in the EFL also leading to his ex-Sheffield United manager, Chris Wilder, describing him as “superb.”
Everything is pointing in the direction of this being a sterling move to pursue to bounce back from the disappointing news about Moore, as Brooks potentially attempts to be the spark yet again for a Championship side in their hunt for promotion glory.
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