West Brom agree a deal to take Ainsley Maitland-Niles on loan as the out-of-favour Arsenal man is brought to The Hawthorns to boost the Baggies’ Premier League survival debut – and his debut could be against bottom side Sheffield United
- 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 PA news agency understands.
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 are also close to 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.
‘If we can’t get the right player in then 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.
‘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.
‘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.’
