M'Baye Niang has been in fine form for Rennes in the last two campaigns (Getty Images)
Back in October, a report from the Express & Star had claimed that West Brom were interested in securing the services of Senegalese international striker M’Baye Niang from Stade Rennes. However, a deal never really materialised and the 25-year-old ended up staying put at his current club.
Meanwhile, West Brom’s long and hard pursuit of a new striker came to an end with the £15million acquisition of Karlan Grant from Huddersfield Town.
M’Baye Niang started his professional career with Caen in France before earning a lucrative move to AC Milan in the summer of 2012. However, he struggled to establish himself as a regular starter at the San Siro and spent time on loan at Montpellier, Genoa, Watford and Torino, joining the latter on a permanent deal in 2017.
The 25-year-old then completed a permanent transfer to Rennes in 2019 on the back of a successful loan spell at the French club that saw him score 14 goals in 44 appearances across all competitions in 2018-19. Niang followed it up with 15 goals in 36 outings for Rennes last season before the Covid-19 pandemic brought a premature end to the campaign in France.
A full international for Senegal since 2017, Niang has earned 23 caps for his nation, representing the Teranga Lions at the 2018 FIFA World Cup and 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
West Brom are yet to get off the mark in the Premier League heading into the final international break of the year. A nightmarish start to the 2020-21 campaign has seen the Baggies lose 5 out of their 8 opening league fixtures so far, with Slaven Bilic’s side placed 18th in the standings with just 3 points.
A tally of just 6 goals scored and 17 conceded in 8 games clearly underlines the need for some significant improvement at both ends of the pitch in the coming months if West Brom are to beat the drop. While Bilic needs to find a way to extract the best out of the existing crop of players at the club, the Baggies should also try to make the best use of the January window to add more depth and quality to their ranks.
Karlan Grant has been tasked with a difficult job of scoring goals week in week out in the Premier League to steer West Brom to safety. The 23-year-old has made a promising start to his career at the Hawthorns but he needs another striker to support him and take the pressure off his shoulders.
It has been pretty clear from Bilic’s team selection that he doesn’t trust the likes of Hal Robson-Kanu and Charlie Austin to do a job in the top-flight. West Brom should, therefore, dip into the January market for a new striker to complement Grant up top and reigniting interest in M’Baye Niang would definitely be a smart idea.
The Senegalese hitman hasn’t really been clinical and consistent over the course of his career but certainly has the pace, power and physicality to thrive in the Premier League. Standing at 6ft 2in, Niang would add that much-needed imposing edge to West Brom’s attack while his versatility to operate in central and wide attacking roles would also improve Bilic’s squad dynamics.
M’Baye Niang isn’t a complete stranger to the English top-flight, having spent the latter half of the 2016-17 campaign on loan at Watford. His overall career tally of 66 goals and 31 assists in 272 appearances can hardly be termed as prolific but at 25, Niang’s best years could still be ahead of him.
The Senegalese talisman already has a lot of experience in the elite leagues in Europe and West Brom should take a punt on him in January.