Bristol City's play-off hopes take hit as rivals announce signing of £15m striker with stunning goal record
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One of Bristol City’s likely rivals for a Championship play-off place have further strengthened after deadline day, with West Bromwich Albion announcing an eleventh-hour loan deal for Southampton striker Adam Armstrong.
The 27-year-old forward, who boasts a highly impressive goalscoring record in the second tier, has moved to the Hawthorns for the rest of the season as the Baggies bolstered their squad over the closing hours of the winter transfer window. The deal was completed so late in the day that West Brom were forced to wait until Tuesday for confirmation that it had been approved by the EFL.
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Hide AdArmstrong bagged 58 Championship goals in 151 games for Blackburn Rovers before making a £15m move to St. Mary’s in 2021. He then went on to hit another 21 goals for the Southampton last season as the Saints returned to the Premier League at the first time of asking.
West Brom are among several contenders for the play-off places who added new faces to their line-ups on deadline day as Bristol City opted against making any signings following the release of a club statement which suggested that budgetary constraints were at the root of the decision to persist with the current squad.
Armstrong headlines late arrivals for play-off rivals
The signing of Newcastle academy graduate Armstrong was perhaps the biggest deadline day move in the second tier, but plenty of the Robins’ promotion rivals also added new players.
Middlesbrough made a significant splash with the loan signings of Aston Villa winger Samuel Iling-Junior and former Leicester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho, who joins from Sevilla for the rest of the season.
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Hide AdNorwich City, meanwhile, signed promising Norther Ireland international defender Ruairi McConville from Brighton & Hove Albion for a fee which could rise to £3.75m and Blackburn Rovers added Emmanuel Dennis and Cauley Woodrow on a temporary basis. Sunderland brought promising Liverpool forward Jayden Danns in on a loan deal as well.
Bristol City head coach Liam Manning, meanwhile, will have to hope that the current squad he has assembled at Ashton Gate will be strong enough to battle towards a play-off place. The Robins are currently two points and three places adrift of the top six.
Bristol City decide against deadline day moves
Bristol City released a club statement on Sunday which pre-empted questions about their plans for the final hours of the transfer window, announcing that they would not be making any new additions to the team.
“We began the season with a larger squad than we would ideally operate with,” the statement read. “After making a real push to sign Scott Twine and Luke McNally late in the summer – decisions we are pleased we made – alongside a couple of expected departures not occurring, we entered January considerably behind on our season budget… We are not adding to the size of the squad.”
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Hide AdThe club did, however, announce their intention to make the loan move of Japanese forward Yu Hirakawa permanent and extended the contract of Stoke City target Mark Sykes. Midfielders Taylor Gardner-Hickman and Tommy Backwell also made their respective loan moves to Birmingham City and Cheltenham Town permanent before the window closed.
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