West Bromwich Albion have made a number of high-profile signings throughout their history.
Romelu Lukaku on loan, as well as Oliver Burke, Nacer Chadli, Salomon Rondon and Jay Rodriguez who all rank among the most expensive Albion signings of all time. And although the Baggies have attracted their fair share of top players over the years, not every deal has been concluded.
In recent years, Albion have been linked with some huge names, including Premier League title winners and even a Ballon d’Or winner. Carlos Corberan’s men are still in with a chance to make the play-offs as we head into the final day of the Championship season on Monday.
And ahead of the summer transfer window, which will inevitably mean more rumours circulating online and a list of players linked with the club, BirminghamWorld has been looking back in time at moves that weren’t quite pulled off.
With that in mind, here are eight players who were on the verge of joining West Brom but failed to put pen to paper - and the reasons the transfers never happened.
1. Virgil van Dijk
Yes, Albion were linked with the Liverpool legend. The Dutch centre half was recommended to Tony Pulis while he was at Celtic, but a move never materialised and Van Dijk joined Southampton
2. John Terry
The Chelsea legend was heavily linked with a move to the Hawthorns in 2017 before he joined local rivals Aston Villa Photo: Michael Regan
3. Luka Modric
West Brom were strongly linked with the 5-time Champions League winner before he joined Spurs in 2007. Tony Mowbray wanted to sign the Croatian from Dinamo Dagreb and he would likely have moved to the Hawthorns if Albion had got promoted to the Premier League at the end of the 2007 season. Unfortunately, they lost to Derby in the play-off final and the move fell through. What might have been!
4. Brad Friedel
With Albion looking to replace Scott Carson in 2011, they held talks with the American shot-stopper Friedel. But he ended up joining Spurs, with Albion signing Ben Foster Photo: Stephen Pond