Why this £140,000-a-week former Chelsea attacker would lift West Brom out of relegation scramble

Why West Bromwich Albion Must Make A Move For Andre Schurrle

West Bromwich Albion are reportedly interested in an audacious January swoop for Borussia Dortmund forward Andre Schurrle. He is understood to have fallen out of favour with the German giants and is keen on securing an exit before the transfer window comes to an end. At present, the only stumbling block is the player’s £140,000-a-week wages but both clubs are going back and forth in discussions to work out a deal. If the Baggies succeed in acquiring his signature, there is no doubt that he could work wonders for them.

The promising German can play on either wing and can also be utilised as a central striker. Although he boasts of tremendous potential, Schurrle has struggled quite a lot during his tenure at Dortmund. He joined them in the summer of 2016 from Wolfsburg to act as a replacement for Henrikh Mkhitaryan but he failed to live up to the billing. To be fair, the player spent quite some time on the sidelines due to injury but he just never managed to get things going.

However, the player does not lack talent. His numbers in the current season may not seem encouraging enough but he is experienced and talented enough to start afresh and make an impact for West Brom. After spending quite a bit of time in the Bundesliga, a change of environment might do him some good and the challenge of bringing the Baggies out of danger and securing a higher finish is likely to motivate him to do better.

With Alan Pardew in charge, West Brom’s performances have marginally improved but they still have a long road ahead of them. Currently sitting at 19th place in the points table, they are dangerously close to getting relegated. Former manager Tony Pulis simply could not extract better performances out of the team and they kept descending.

The problem is that their immediate competition – the likes of Stoke City, Swansea City, Brighton, Newcastle and Southampton – have been extremely unpredictable this season. With the challenges set to intensify, all these clubs will be aiming to step-up their game and it is imperative that West Brom do the same to keep pace with their rivals.

Hence, signing a player like Schurrle could massively improve their chances of putting together a strong attack. Moreover, he has prior Premier League experience as well, having played for Chelsea before. In addition to that, Schurrle is a World Cup winner and signing him could be a massive statement of intent from West Brom, who have otherwise struggled in transfer windows.