The top four in the Championship are in a race of their own. However, West Bromwich Albion, in fifth, are desperately trying to stay alive in the fight for automatic promotion but are currently 13 points adrift of Ipswich Town in second.
The Baggies currently boast the second-best defensive record in England's second tier this season but it is the attack that is currently letting head coach Carlos Corberan down, as West Brom rank 12th for goals scored in the division.
Nevertheless, with the January window open, Corberan is reportedly eyeing up attacking reinforcements to bolster his frontline to rectify this issue.
West Brom transfer news – Umut Nayir
According to a report from Turkish journalist Yagiz Sabuncuoglu, West Brom are set to battle it out with fellow promotion rivals Cardiff City over the signing of Fenerbahce frontman Umut Nayir.
The 30-year-old has struggled for game-time this season with the Super Lig giants and has played just 120 minutes in total for Fenerbahce, spread across 12 matches. This comes to just ten minutes per appearance despite the club currently paying him £10k-per-week. Furthermore, Nayir has failed to find the net even once in the 2023/24 campaign.
Having signed for the club on a two-year deal during the summer, Nayir quickly found himself down the pecking order under manager Ismail Kartal as both ex-Premier League stars Edin Dzeko and Michy Batshuayi have rotated the number nine position and have a combined total of 24 goals between them.
With that in mind, it seems as though an exit from Fenerbahce is likely this winter and West Brom could offer the striker the chance to kick-start his career.
Umut Nayir's career stats
Last season, Brandon Thomas-Asante finished as West Brom's top goalscorer in all competitions with nine goals in total in 35 appearances. This season, he is already just one off his record from the previous campaign, having found the net eight times in 25 matches, including seven in the Championship.
The issue for Corberan is that the former Salford City man is heavily relied upon for goals. The Baggies have scored 32 goals in all competitions this term and 25% have been through Thomas-Asante. Additionally, the 25-year-old's backup centre-forward Josh Maja has only managed to convert one opportunity all season in nine matches, offering little to nothing to the team if the first-choice striker doesn't have his shooting boots on.
Nayir could help alleviate this issue. While this season certainly hasn't gone to plan, the Turkey international has been a prolific goalscorer throughout his career and has a much more reliable record than the man he could replace at The Hawthorns, having registered 103 goal contributions in 265 appearances as a professional.
Club
Appearances
Goals
Assists
Club
Appearances
Goals
Assists
Ankaragucu
107
48
3
Bordeaux
93
29
9
Goztepe
35
18
0
Sunderland
49
17
2
Giresunspor
34
9
2
Stoke City
17
2
3
Umraniyespor
33
18
3
Fulham
15
3
0
Besiktas
30
6
1
West Brom
9
1
0
Hajduk Split
26
6
1
Bursaspor
26
5
0
Y. Malatyaspor
16
5
1
Osmanlispor
13
3
0
Fenerbahce
12
0
0
Total
332
118
11
Total
183
52
14
Stats via Transfermarkt
Stats via Transfermarkt
Granted, Nayir is five years older than Maja, but he still boasts more than double the number of goals that Maja has bagged in his entire career. Right now, West Bromwich Albion need goals and the Turkish centre-forward certainly has goals in him, so Corberan shouldn't pass up the opportunity to bring him to the Midlands this winter.
