West Brom have been linked with a surprise solution to their striking woes ahead of the upcoming transfer window...

What's the word?

According to the Daily Mail, the Baggies are one of several teams keeping a close eye on Crawley Town marksman Max Watters.

It's claimed that Watford and clubs from League One and Belgium are also keen on signing the in-form 21-year-old, who is valued at around £1m by the League Two outfit.

Calculated risk

Albion are among the lowest scorers in the Premier League having bagged just eight goals in 11 appearances. The only two teams that have managed fewer are either side of them in the relegation zone.

That tells you all you need to know right now.

Their pursuit of Karlan Grant finally came to an end in the summer with the club splashing out £2m in six instalments, but so far, his arrival hasn't gone to plan.

He's scored just once in seven starts whilst an average rating of 6.48 is hardly going to inspire anyone just yet.

It's time for desperate measures, so a calculated risk on a young player that's worth only £1m could be right up Guochuan Lai's penny-pinching street, Watters could well turn out to be a bargain.

Just look at how Jamie Vardy's career turned out in the end.

The 21-year-old has scored a whopping 12 goals in 14 appearances in all competitions, meaning he is averaging one goal every 75 minutes on the pitch, via Transfermarkt.

Even former Baggies boss Darren Moore has backed him for success as the young striker was originally on the books of Doncaster Rovers before making the permanent switch south.

Speaking to Doncaster Free Press, Moore told of his disappointment over not keeping the 5 foot 11 talisman at the Keepmoat and praised his ability, he said:

“He’s got all the attributes. He’s a powerful man, he can play in a variety of positions in that front line. He boasts tremendous speed. He’s got an eye for goal and gets in the right places. He’s got wonderful attributes."

Whilst he's no proven Premier League player, it can't hurt to have an unknown quantity in the ranks, one that can push Grant to do better.

AND in other news, Exclusive: Pundit questions West Brom's potential £150m takeover