West Brom eyeing summer deals

West Bromwich Albion could target Manchester United goalkeeper Tomasz Kuszczak and Ipswich’s Gareth McAuley this off-season.

West Brom manager Roy Hodgson has guided the side to a mid-table finish since taking the reins in February and will be looking for further success next term.

And ahead of their home game against Everton on Saturday, Hodgson refused to rule out a move for the pair.

Hodgson said: “They are players that fall into the West Bromwich Albion category.”

“If those players are available they will certainly be players we will discuss.”

“At the moment all that type of talk is pure speculation and I think there is going to be an awful lot of speculation in the next couple of weeks.”

“This is the time when the agents are trying to move their players around and make them attractive to other clubs by supposedly having clubs who are interested in buying them.”

“One of the classic things is saying ‘he’s wanted by these 35 clubs but he wants to come to you because he’s always wanted to play in a blue and white shirt!’ I have heard it before.”

Indeed Hodgson knows all the tricks of the trade after a long managerial career that started way back in 1976.

It has been a season of two halves with his time at Liverpool cut short in January before his more successful period at West Brom.

Kenny Dalglish succeeded him in the Anfield hotseat and the club has taken a massive upturn in fortunes since then. Hodgson admitted it was a good appointment for the club to make.

“It is obvious that since Kenny has had some very good results since he took over from me,’ Hodgson said.

“The club and fans seem happy with him, but it is not for me to be commenting about it because I do not want to be accused of being hypocritical.”

“I do not think it is my business to say whether an appointment is good or bad but the public perception is that it was a good appointment.”

West Brom will be without defender Pablo Ibanez (hamstring) and midfielders Steven Reid (calf) and Graeme Dorrans (ankle) for the match against Everton.