West Brom striker Peter Odemwingie has said that he will only leave the club if an offer from a 'top' team comes in.
Odemwingie has attracted rave reviews since his move to England last year and finished as the Baggies' top scorer in 2010-11. Wigan made an offer believed to be around £1.5 million, but that was rejected by the club and the Nigerian striker has now revealed that he would only leave for a big side.
''To my dear WBA supporters,'' Odemwingie tweeted. ''I love this club and will leave only to a TOP team which is understandable. Nothing abnormal is going on. Contract is not signed cos of the duration of it. Figures agreed long time ago cos I know this is not real madrid . Please be patient.''
Earlier, West Brom manager Roy Hodgson maintained that he was hopeful the striker would pen a new deal as he 'owes' the club that made him. "Peter's been made an extremely good offer. I'm optimistic he'll sign,'' Hodgson said. ''We owe him a debt but he owes us too as we were the club that gave him his chance."
First-team coach Michael Appleton added his voice to the many hoping that Odemwingie would stay, "Peter is 30 years old and I would imagine at some point in his career he's been in a situation where he's been in negotiations with his contract," Appleton said. "It has to be right for him, right for the club and I'm sure over the next couple of weeks something will be agreed and we can all get on with playing football and everyone comes out of it happy.
"We want him to stay. We took a chance on taking him from Russia 12 months ago and saw something in him we liked and could work with. He had a fantastic season last year and we want that again this season with us. Staying at West Brom will give him that opportunity.
"He got 15 goals last season and if he can get anywhere close to that then I'm sure we will give ourselves a good chance next season."
West Brom have slapped an 8 million pound price tag on the striker who hit 15 goals last term. The Nigeria forward missed Albion's Premier League opening day defeat at Old Trafford with an ankle injury, but now says he could be back for this weekend. "Started running today. Optimistic me says I'll be ok for Saturday, with magic from the doctor though. Realistic me says- balance both." The news will come as a welcome breathes of fresh air to fans of West Brom, who have been concerned about losing their leading goal scorer.
Meanwhile Osaze hinted that he prefers to remain in the English Premier League, which further narrows down potential suitors. Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City have all but concluded their transfer business, especially in the striking department. This leaves Tottenham HotSpur and Arsenal as the other top choices. Spurs are already speaking to Man City over getting Adebayor, although they could still make a late bid, while Arsenal look neither here nor there at the moment.
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