Championship side Fulham have reportedly rejected a £15m bid from Premier League strugglers West Brom for Scotland midfielder Tom Cairney.
Only last month Cairney claimed that he was committed to staying with Fulham despite being "flattered" by interest from West Brom's Premier League rivals Newcastle, but that doesn't appear to have deterred Baggies manager Alan Pardew from making a move of his own.
According to a tweet from The Guardian's Deputy Sports News Editor Ed Aarons, Fulham have rejected the £15m bid for Cairney, and are determined not to sell the highly rated midfielder.
Fulham have rejected £15m bid from West Brom for Tom Cairney. Championship club determined not to sell #ffc #wbafc
— Ed Aarons (@ed_aarons) 23 January 2018
Cairney has scored 22 goals in 111 appearances for Fulham since joining for a fee of around £3m from Blackburn Rovers in June 2015.
The Scotsman was awarded Fulham's Player of the Season for the 2016/17 campaign, during which he was the only player in the Championship to both score and assist more than ten goals, and signed a new contract until 2021 in the summer.
Tom Cairney was the only player with 10+ goals and assists in the Championship last season! ⚽️ ️
He's just signed a new deal until 2021! pic.twitter.com/UIXQbomWtL
— AccaTracker App (@AccaTrackerTM) 3 July 2017
Cairney's creativity and goal threat would be a welcome addition to a West Brom lineup that has found the net just nineteen times in the Premier League this season, leaving them nineteenth in the table three points adrift from safety.
The Baggies have yet to make a signing in this window, ahead of what looks set to be a dramatic run in at the bottom end of the table with just six points covering the bottom half of the table.
- 90Min