West Brom are poised to reignite their interest in Dundee United’s Stuart Armstrong when the January transfer window opens, Courier Sport understands.
The highly-rated 22-year-old’s progress has been monitored by several clubs in recent months, with the likes of Hull City, Celtic and Sporting Lisbon all mentioned in despatches as managers seek mid-season reinforcements.
Now it seems that Albion are keen to rejoin the race for Armstrong’s signature and are weighing up whether or not to make a move for the playmaker.
The English club’s chief Scottish scout Stuart Millar was at Saturday’s New Firm derby defeat and, while the United man maybe didn’t have the best of games, the fact the Baggies have repeatedly had Armstrong watched suggests they remain keen on the player.
Hull, who have already taken United prodigy Andrew Robertson to the English Premier League, are also set to step up their interest when the window opens, while Celtic assistant John Collins ran the rule over Armstrong at the end of last month as United edged past Motherwell in the Scottish Cup.
The Scottish champions are keen to strengthen in January and Armstrong is just one of the homegrown players on their radar.
Meanwhile, United should learn today if midfielder Paul Paton will miss this weekend’s clash against Celtic as the SFA consider the spitting charge levied against him.
Paton had been offered an immediate two-match ban by the SFA for allegedly spitting at Aberdeen’s Jonny Hayes in Saturday’s 2-0 New Firm derby defeat.
However, United are adamant their player is in the clear and the matter is likely to be considered by a disciplinary tribunal today (Thursday), with Hayes having already taken to Twitter to apparently exonerate Paton.
The Dons player described it as a “non-issue” and said he would be willing to confirm his side of the story to the SFA.
“I’d never want to see a fellow pro being accused or found guilty of something that never happened,” Hayes wrote.
If Paton was to lose his appeal, he would miss the Premiership games against Celtic on Sunday and St Johnstone on December 27.