Albion boss Tony Pulis set for European scouting mission

The Baggies boss is desperate to build on a campaign which looks set to deliver a club record Premier League points haul and yesterday outlined the need for “at least" five or six signings during the next transfer window.

With a list of domestic targets already compiled, Pulis now wants to take a closer look at players who have been recommended by scouts on the continent.

“What we’re doing at the moment - and I’ll be away quite a bit before the end of the season - is going to watch players who have been recommended by scouts at this club or other clubs,” he said.

“We know the home market very well and we have targets. That will be again something that we will delve into further down the line. But it gives me a chance to go and watch players who have been highly recommended abroad.”

Albion’s final list will likely be a mixture of both domestic and European targets, with Pulis admitting having top flight status for next season already secured has allowed him more time to prepare.

“The foreign market might bring you better value but you don’t know the players as well as you know the British players,” he said. “If I am signing a player in England I can find out everything about that player.

"I can ring the police station up and see if he has got a police record. You can find out everything about British players and character is so, so important for me as a manager.

"We have a background of scouts who are working abroad. Even with my own contacts I have people who are working abroad myself who I have got to know over the years who will recommend players.

"We are not saying we will get them or that they would come to West Brom but at least they are giving us the opportunity and the chance to look and see if they are what we want."

Pulis’s wish for “five or six” signings is an increase on the “two or three” outlined by both himself and chairman John Williams less than two months ago and is perhaps an acknowledgement of the challenge in improving on a year when the Baggies have outperformed expectations. Both the head coach and Williams will head to China at the end of the season to discuss the transfer budget with owner Guochaun Lai.

“We need at least five or six players to come in and improve the club,” said Pulis. “That’s the aim and it’s not just one position (we are looking).

“We have to keep pushing on. There’s definitely areas we have to strengthen and that’s all over the pitch not just in one place."