West Brom keen on David Button as Jonathan Leko looks set to move on

The Baggies are on the hunt for a goalkeeper to provide competition for Sam Johnstone ahead of the Premier League season kicking off on September 12.

Head coach Slaven Bilic previously said he was keen to sign Croatian Ivo Grbic from Lokomotiva Zagreb.

But he turned down the chance to move to The Hawthorns in favour of signing for Atlético Madrid.

Now the Express & Star understands the Baggies have switched their attentions to Button who will cost in the region of £1million.

The 31-year-old joined Brighton from Fulham in 2018 for £4milion.

But he has featured just 12 times for the Seagulls having largely been used as an understudy for Australian Mathew Ryan.

Prior to his move to Brighton, Button had spells where he was number one at both Brentford and Fulham.

Once Albion have signed a keeper to compete with Johnstone, promising shot-stopper Alex Palmer will be allowed to leave the club on loan, with League One Lincoln keen.

Jonathan Bond is also still training with the Baggies while he decides whether he wants to stay and fight for a place on the bench or secure first-team football elsewhere.

Meanwhile, Leko looks set to leave Albion after Birmingham and Sheffield Wednesday saw offers in the region of £1million accepted for the forward.

The 21-year-old is still battling his way back from serious injury after rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his knee while on loan at Charlton last season.

But that hasn’t put off Blues and Wednesday who have both lodged bids for the forward who has predominantly played on the wing for Albion but impressed as a central striker for the Addicks last term.

It is understood head coach Slaven Bilic is a long-term admirer of Leko and actually asked about his development while being interviewed for the Albion job – with the Croatian having been impressed with the forward when he played against his West Ham side.

But with Albion in the market to bolster their options out wide and up front this window, it’s is believed both Leko and the club feel the 21-year-old needs to move somewhere where he is more likely to get first team football each week. If Leko does leave, it will bring an end to his 10-year association with the Baggies, having initially joined them when he was just 11.

Meanwhile, Albion look set to miss out on the signing of centre-back Shane Duffy.

The Express & Star confirmed earlier this month the Republic of Ireland international was a player the Baggies were keen to sign in a bid to add top flight experience to their ranks.

The Brighton defender was also interesting West Ham, Burnley and Celtic.

And it appears Celtic are set to win the race for the 28-year-old – with Duffy having been a Hoops fan while growing up in Londonderry.

The centre-back has consistently taken to social media site Instagram to drop hints about his future once it was clear he would be leaving Brighton during the summer transfer window.

And yesterday he uploaded an image while sat on an aeroplane about to take off with the caption “LET’S GO”.

That was followed by his brother Tony uploading a Celtic badge.