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Hot Football Transfer Gossip: West Brom ‘want Schneiderlin’, West Ham ‘target Mitrovic’, Arsenal ‘on Draxler alert’

Tony Pulis is best known for headbutting people in the shower, but today he will be singing in it. And the song on his thin Welsh lips is straight out of the Martine McCutcheon back catalogue.

“This is my moment, this is my perfect moment,” Tony will be crooning, naked, as he contemplates West Brom’s top-six placing in the Premier League - the highest position of his top flight career after more than 1,000 games in management.

Unsurprisingly, the Baggies boss wants to make his perfect moment count. The Telegraph reports that Pulis will be given a January war chest of more than £20m as he aims to steer his unfashionable side into the Champions League - and he wants to spend it on Morgan Schneiderlin and Jay Rodriguez.

The duo once enjoyed a fruitful partnership at Southampton, but since their St Mary’s heyday Rodriguez has been mainly injured and Schneiderlin has been mainly on Manchester United’s subs’ bench.

Pulis, who is said to be “fine-tuning his preparations for January”, is keen to get the old team back together, although Schneiderlin is also rumoured to be on Everton’s radar.

West Ham and Crystal Palace are reportedly “battling” to sign Newcastle striker Aleksandar Mitrovic, a man who can’t currently hold down a regular place in the Championship.

The Express says the struggling London duo are “desperate to boost their firepower” and says the Magpies would be tempted by offers close to the £14.5m they spent on the fiery Serbian in 2015.

Mitrovic is a man who has unfinished business in the Premier League - mainly because there are a few top flight players remaining who he has still hasn’t kicked.

Former West Ham goalkeeper Shaka Hislop says the Hammers would be better off signing Daniel Sturridge from Liverpool (ESPN), but it’s not really up to him.

The Mirror says Southampton and Stoke are vying to sign Eric Choupo-Moting, who aside from having a very good name is also a 27-year-old Cameroonian international striker who has scored three goals in 15 games for Schalke this season. Presumably his hold-up play is better than his goalscoring.

Elsewhere, Juventus have “stepped up their interest” in Chelsea target Frank Kessie - dubbed the “new Yaya Toure” (Goal), Bundesliga leaders RB Leipzig have joined Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham in the race to sign Celtic striker Moussa Dembele (Mail) and Arsene Wenger’s favourite player Julian Draxler has put the Gunners on “red alert” by reaffirming his desire to quit Wolfsburg (Mirror). Wenger’s car has just pulled up outside Draxler’s house as we speak - Martine McCutcheon’s Perfect Moment blaring out of the windows. It’s such a tune.

@darlingkevin