Liverpool Striker Rickie Lambert Set to Bid Good-Bye To The Club

 Rickie Lambert 

West Bromwich Albion are expected to step up their interest in Liverpool’s Rickie Lambert with talks set to take place between all parties this week.

A deal could be wrapped up in the coming days with Albion’s transfer activity expected to gather pace now the manager Tony Pulis has returned from the US following a three-game tour.

Pulis is hunting a new striker to help Saido Berahino, with question marks remaining over record signing Brown Ideye’s future following a disappointing first season in England.

Lambert, who has also attracted interest from newly-promoted Norwich, struggled to make an impact at Liverpool after a move from Southampton last summer with the 33-year-old scoring just three times in 36 appearances.

He rejected a deadline day move to Aston Villa in February with the forward insisting he did not want to leave Liverpool after just half a season. The England international will fall further down the pecking order at Anfield with the impending arrival of Christian Benteke, the Aston Villa striker who is set to complete a £32.5m transfer.

Pulis is overhauling his squad this summer with Queens Park Rangers’ Matt Phillips and Arsenal’s Serge Gnabry on his radar. Michail Antonio remains a target despite West Brom having a £5m bid rejected by Nottingham Forest last week. It is understood the Baggies remain confident they can land the winger.

Meanwhile, Pulis has warned James McClean he must protect his reputation after his snub of the English flag last week. McClean refused to face the cross of St George during the national anthem while on Albion’s pre-season tour of the US. The winger, signed from Wigan this summer, is from a republican background in Northern Ireland and has also refused to wear a Remembrance Day poppy out of respect for people killed on Bloody Sunday.

“Obviously there has been a stigma around him and he doesn’t need to start that up again,” Pulis told the Wolverhampton Express & Star.

“So hopefully we’ve nipped it in the bud and we can get on with our things and he can get on with his things. I didn’t see the situation but I had a chat with him and explained what we do as a football club and the way we are and I think he’s fine with everything.

“We’ve got Northern Ireland lads in the squad and he’s been absolutely fantastic with them, and the way he’s mixed and integrated with the group has been brilliant. I’ve seen the pictures and he’s got to turn towards the flag like everybody else has and he recognises that.”