West Brom striker Charlie Austin has no future at the Baggies, according to recent claims.

The Telegraph's John Percy claims Sam Allardyce will listen to offers for the 31-year-old striker this month to free up some wages as they also close in on the signing of Robert Snodgrass from league rivals West Ham.

Austin has been restricted to just 133 minutes of Premier League action this term and even after the injury blow to Karlan Grant, his manager opted for Callum Robinson instead.

Despite finishing their promotion season as Albion's joint top-goalscorer, the former QPR talisman seems destined to leave the Hawthorns having cost just £4m only 18 months ago.

But an instant replacement for Austin seems unlikely given the financial situation in the Midlands - Percy states in his article that 'moves for players who will cost in excess of £2 million are rated as seriously doubtful.'

Therefore, it might be wise for Allardyce to dip into the U23 squad for a cheap and quick solution, especially with Grant scheduled to miss the next six weeks with a broken foot.

And he could do no wrong in giving a promotion to Chiekh Diaby, who according to the Express & Star, could head out on loan this transfer window.

West Brom managed to secure the 20-year-old's services ahead of La Liga side Valencia, which is certainly quite a coup considering they were in the Championship at the time.

Diaby came through at the prestigious Le Harve academy where the likes of Paul Pogba, Dimitri Payet and Lassana Diarra first made their names.

Academy boss Richard Stevens has been impressed with the youngster, claiming that he's "a powerful boy, he’s going to score goals, he’s going to give defences a problem because of his physicality."

The French forward has been in red-hot form for the youth squad too, scoring six goals in nine appearances in the Premier League 2, including five goals in as many outings, per Transfermarkt.

Albion themselves are known for breeding through the next best thing, so Big Sam must continue that trend and save the club millions in doing so, should Austin depart this month.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Sam Allardyce urged to bring £65k-p/w "handful" to West Brom