Carlos Corberan won't have been best pleased with his side's efforts against Wolverhampton Wanderers last match, West Bromwich Albion losing 2-0 at the Hawthorns in what was a fiery Black Country Derby.
Wolves' Premier League quality ended up shining through on the day courtesy of Pedro Neto and Matheus Cunha running rings around the hosts, the Baggies now just aspiring to join their arch-rivals in the top-flight and bridge that gap if everything goes swimmingly in the Championship promotion hunt.
But, based off that defeat in the FA Cup denting West Brom's pride somewhat, Corberan could well be tempted by some last-minute buys this transfer window with one midfielder in particular catching the eye in the West Midlands.
West Brom going after in-demand youngster
West Brom have joined what is an incredibly late race to sign Huddersfield Town starlet Brahima Diarra according to Foot Mercato, with nine second-tier sides in total allegedly sniffing around for the 20-year-old midfielder in the report.
Foot Mercato journalist Sébastien Denis has also further revealed on social media that a Ligue 1 club is 'very hot' on signing the Terriers starlet alongside West Brom, but the Championship promotion candidates will still be hopeful of securing a deal for Diarra before the close of the transfer window ahead of interest from France.
With talk earlier in the window surrounding Okay Yokuslu potentially leaving the Baggies, and Alex Mowatt lacking another midfield partner away from the combative Turkish presence, Diarra could well give the West Midlands club some more depth ahead of the crunch months to come in the ongoing promotion race.
How Diarra fits into the West Brom team
Playing with a central midfield trio last game to try and make the Baggies more compact, Yokuslu pushed back to an anchor-like role, Diarra could come in and take Nathaniel Chalobah's more advanced spot off him to complement Mowatt if this is a preferred West Brom system for the long-run.
Helping himself to three assists from 42 Championship appearances to date for the Terriers, Diarra is held in high regard in West Yorkshire and was even publically praised by Neil Warnock at the start of the season when pulling on a Huddersfield strip.
Showing signs of promise at the start of this campaign when selected led to Warnock even comparing the energetic midfielder to Victor Moses, describing him as a 'super' talent for the future.
"He just reminds me of a lad I had at Palace called Victor Moses, who was always smiling and wanting to play," the former Terriers boss admitted.
Averaging 3.27 successful take-ons over the last year per 90 minutes, bettering Yokuslu's meagre 0.59 quite significantly in comparison, Diarra would allow for West Brom to play far more on the front-foot with Mowatt beginning the attacking moves and Diarra then driving the team up the field.
Diarra also trumps Yokuslu when it comes to tackles over the same time period – coming in at 2.15 to Yokuslu's 1.99 – and so the in-demand 5 foot 9 midfielder could slot into the starting XI and perform like the Baggies number 35 with just more tenacity and aggression at his disposal.
With Yokuslu also now starting to near towards the twilight of his career at nearly 30 years of age, the time could well be right for West Brom to take a risk in the transfer market and attempt to land Diarra before the window slams shut tomorrow.
Mowatt could well see his game improve too alongside his new midfield partner, West Brom desperate to make any last-minute adjustments they can that could give them the edge in winning promotion.