One of West Brom’s transfer goals appears to be going to pass them by.
According to sources from France, center-back Mickaël Nadé is close to signing a new contract with Saint-Etienne, therefore West Brom seems likely to miss out on the chance to recruit him for free.
After his contract expired at the end of the previous month, the 25-year-old officially left Saint-Etienne, but it now appears that he will remain after more negotiations over a new deal. After defeating Metz in the promotion play-off final, the team he has played for three seasons was promoted to the French first flight.
Nade made his professional debut in 2017 after rising through the ranks of the Saint-Etienne academy, and he has been under contract there for the duration of his senior career. In the 2020–21 season, he did have a loan stint with Quevilly-Rouen, a team in Ligue 2. He made 79 appearances for Saint-Etienne.
Following his contract offer last week, Sheffield Wednesday and West Brom, their Championship opponents, reportedly kept a close check on the issue, according to a report from the French publication L’Equipe. But according to GFFN, he was about to reject that offer. Le Progres, in a report reprinted by The Sheffield Star, stated in a recent update that the player turned down offers to stay with Saint-Etienne from English teams after the parties were able to resolve their problems.
The text stated as follows: “Finalising talks on a four-year deal is evidence that the parties have at last managed to come to an understanding… The central defender was thinking about staying in England at the end of last week after being let down by the Saint-Etienne management’s offer of money.
Although West Brom were fifth in the Championship the previous year, they lost to eventual promotion winners Southampton in the play-off semifinals. They have signed three new players thus far. to the end of June, midfielder Ousmane Diakite signed a two-year contract with the option to extend it by one more year and came to the Hawthorns. Torbjorn Heggen, who was signed by Carlos Corberan for an alleged £500k fee, strengthened the defence already, and goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith arrived on a free transfer after leaving Derby County.
