Sheffield United have been dealt a huge blow in their bid to bring Jonson Clarke-Harris to Bramall Lane this summer.
What's the talk?
That's according to a report by Bristol Live, who claim that West Bromwich Albion are now in pole position to land the Peterborough United forward this summer.
It is also claimed that Sheffield United, along with Rangers, Bournemouth and CSKA Moscow, are in the race to secure a deal for the 26-year-old in the coming transfer window, who would be available for around £8m.
Fans will be gutted
With goalscoring having been something of an issue for the Blades last term, with 33-year-old David McGoldrick being the club's top league goalscorer with a mere eight strikes, as well as the fact that United scored a grand total of just 20 Premier League goals in the season just gone, improvements in the club's attacking arsenal would appear to be a priority this summer.
And, considering how impressive Clarke-Harris was for Peterborough last term, the striker would not appear to be far off the ideal signing for Slavisa Jokanovic's side in the upcoming transfer window.
Indeed, over his 45 League One appearances for Darren Ferguson's side, the £225k-rated hitman scored 31 goals, registered three assists and created 11 big chances for his teammates, in addition to taking an average of 2.9 shots and making one key pass per game.
These returns saw the 26-year-old earn a seasonal SofaScore match rating of 7.24, ranking him as the club's second-best performer in the third tier of English football - playing a huge role in Peterborough's promotion-winning campaign.
As such, the addition of the player Ferguson dubbed a "leader" to Jokanovic's attacking options at Bramall Lane would almost certainly increase the Blades' chances of securing an immediate return to the Premier League next season, and, for a fee of around £8m, a deal for the striker would definitely not break the bank.
However, with it being reported that West Brom are now the favourites to land the forward, should Clarke-Harris indeed go on to join the Baggies this summer, it would come as a huge blow for United, as, not only would the Blades be missing out on the 26-year-old's goals, but one of their main promotion rivals would be directly benefiting from them - an outcome that would undoubtedly leave Sheffield United fans gutted.
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