West Brom agree loan deal for Arsenal’s Ainsley Maitland-Niles and complete move for Turkish midfielder Okay Yokuslu as Sam Allardyce looks to boost Baggies’ Premier League survival push
- Ainsley Maitland-Niles has struggled to start regularly for Arsenal this season
- West Brom are 19th in the Premier League and nine points off Brighton in 17th
- The Baggies are also close to capturing Celta Vigo midfielder Okay Yokuslu
- Former Leicester Ahmed Musa could become another addition to the squad
West Brom have agreed a deal with Arsenal to take Ainsley Maitland-Niles on loan for the rest of the season.
The Baggies have been chasing the England international to help their battle against Premier League relegation.
They are 19th in the table ahead of Tuesday’s trip to rock-bottom Sheffield United and have also completed the loan of Turkey midfielder Okay Yokuslu from Celta Vigo.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles has struggled to nail down a regular starting spot at Arsenal this season
The 23-year-old could be signed in time for the clash against bottom side Sheffield United
Boss Sam Allardyce said: ‘We have until 11pm, I think we will try between now and 11pm to try to find two more players who are available.
‘It’s not just the player, it’s also what finances are left. Time is running out, but we have spent quite a considerable amount of our budget that was available.
‘There’s no point getting a player in who won’t improve the first team.’
Maitland-Niles has played 21 times for Arsenal this season and made his England debut in September last year.
Former Leicester forward Ahmed Musa is also due to arrive for a trial, delayed due to coronavirus protocols.
The Baggies are now nine points from safety after Brighton’s 1-0 win over Tottenham on Sunday and Allardyce knows they must start winning ahead of Tuesday’s trip to Yorkshire.
Okay Yokuslu has 29 caps for Turkey and moved to Celta Vigo from Trabzonspor back in 2018
‘We’re desperate to get three points at Sheffield United,’ he said. ‘We are both in the worst positions we can be in, so we have to go out and perform, be better than Sheffield United and take our chances when they arrive.
‘Two points out of the two games against two teams around our area is not good enough to get us out of the problem we have.
‘We had a great chance to win against Fulham, it’s our fault we didn’t win. All the lads had to do was defend properly.
Ahmed Musa is keen to prove himself in the Premier League after a tough spell with Leicester
‘The battling qualities of the team encouraged me and the qualities they showed in the second half encouraged me.
‘That fight and desire has to last for 90 minutes, not just 45.
‘Historically 38 points has been enough (to stay up) and I think it’ll be enough this year. Sooner or later we have to be the ones doing the winning when the others are losing.’
