Rickie Lambert is expected to finalise a move from Liverpool to West Bromwich Albion in the next few days although the clubs have yet to agree a fee for the former England striker.
Lambert joined his boyhood club for £4.5m from Southampton last summer but made only 12 starts in all competitions as the dream return to Anfield did not unfold as planned. He was given permission to talk to Aston Villa in January but rejected a proposed £5m transfer in order to fight for a place at Liverpool. In the event, the 33-year-old made only two further starts for Brendan Rodgers’ side despite their glaring problems in attack.
Albion have opened talks with Liverpool over the striker’s future and are firm favourites to sign Lambert, who has also been linked with Leicester City, Crystal Palace and a possible reunion with the former Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino at Tottenham Hotspur.
While interest from Spurs would be attractive, Lambert, who admitted his match sharpness suffered from a bit-part role at Anfield, is anxious for regular first-team football after the experience of last season.
Liverpool are keen to recoup their outlay on the England forward while Albion’s initial valuation is believed to have been around the £3m mark. Providing a compromise is reached, Lambert could undergo a medical and move to the Hawthorns within days. He would be Tony Pulis’s third summer signing following James McClean from Wigan Athletic and James Chester, who arrived for £8m from Hull City on Wednesday.
The Albion manager confirmed: “Rickie is available. Liverpool have made that known. We’d be interested. It’s very important that we get players who will score goals and Rickie’s got a great goalscoring record.
“From what I can gather from people at Liverpool his fitness levels are very, very good and he is desperate to play football. He didn’t play last year so it’s like bringing a brand new car out of the garage if we did sign him. Just putting a bit of petrol in it and letting it run.”
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