Scouted in 2011, now a 305-goal machine: WBA had a mare on “phenomenal” £96k-p/w star - opinion

West Brom have been fairly active in the transfer market whenever they get the chance, bringing players in either on loan or permanent deals.

However, one deal that the Baggies had the chance to complete and will now be regretting is one for Barcelona striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.

According to an article from the Express & Star, the Midlands club were watching the centre-forward back in 2011 while he was on loan at Saint-Etienne from AC Milan.

The article also claimed that the Baggies had the chance to bring in the Gabon international on loan but opted against the move.

Shortly after being scouted by West Brom in 2011, the striker ended up joining Saint-Etienne on a permanent deal in the 2012 January transfer deal.

Since that point, the attacker has had spells at Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal before making a move to Barcelona during the previous January window.

According to a report from Football Espana, the former Gunners star took a significant pay cut from the £300k-per-week wages he was on at the Emirates, to complete his move to the Nou Camp, where he is reportedly now earning a weekly wage of just over £96k-per-week.

Having been praised for his “phenomenal” form at the north London club by Mikel Arteta, Aubameyang has hit the ground running in Spain by racking up nine goals in 11 appearances across La Liga and the Europa League.

Throughout his entire career, the 32-year-old has scored 305 goals in 592 senior and youth club appearances across all competitions in England, Italy, Germany, France and now Spain, winning several trophies in the process.

One other award the striker picked up during his time in England was the Golden Boot in the 2018/19 Premier League season, having found the back of the net 22 times.