Tony Pulis confirms Arsenal sold Kieran Gibbs to West Brom for £5m after initially asking for £12m
It could end up being one the shrewdest signings of the summer, even if it was one of the most curious.
Tony Pulis has never been shy of converting centre-backs and central midfielders into full-backs, because he prefers to have height and strength in those positions.
Which is one of the reasons why, when Albion first enquired about Kieran Gibbs, the Baggies boss baulked at the £12million asking price Arsenal had slapped on the left-back.
Pulis was unwilling to spend that much on him, but later in the window, when Gibbs’s move to Watford fell through, Albion swooped in and snapped him up for £5m.
“I just thought Gibbs was too expensive,” he confirmed. “The £12m that Arsenal were talking about at the beginning of the season was too much.
"To get him for £5m over a period of time now is a good deal for us.”
On the face of it, that is a bargain in today’s market for an England international in the prime of his career, and an example why so many clubs engage in acts of brinkmanship and leave their business late.
Pulis, who purposefully avoided calling Arsene Wenger about Gibbs, has taken on a project not normally associated with him because he received glowing reports from two people he trusts in Wenger’s backroom staff.
