West Bromwich Albion have agreed on a fee for Rotherham United defender Semi Ajayi as reported by the Daily Mail.
Local journalist Matt Wilson has also tweeted the two clubs have reached an acceptable figure for the Nigeria international which he reports is in the region of £1.5 million.
#wba have now agreed a fee with #rufc for Semi Ajayi. In the region of £1.5m up front. Very shrewd business in my opinion. Young, versatile player
— Matt Wilson (@mattianwilson) July 19, 2019
The twenty-five-year-old impressed for the relegated Millers in the Championship last season and was awarded a supporters’ player of the year award. The versatile defender, who can also play in defensive midfield, featured in all forty-six league matches for Rotherham last season chipping in with an eye-catching eight goals.
The former Arsenal junior enjoyed loans spells at Cardiff, AFC Wimbledon and Crewe Alexandra while at the Gunners before moving making a move to Cardiff permanent in 2015. He arrived in South Yorkshire in 2017 after a successful loan stint for an undisclosed fee on a three-year deal.
Baggies boss Slaven Bilic is looking for defensive reinforcements following the departure of Craig Dawson to Watford and the return of loanee Tosin Adarabioyo to Manchester City, and it seems like they are close to sealing a deal for Ajayi.
Our View
Many Rotherham fans will feel the Baggies have got a bargain at £1.5 million if the reports are accurate and that is a big if with rumours around social media the club had rejected £2.5 million yesterday!
They can only hope that this is an upfront fee with various add on clauses built into the deal.
Ajayi is still raw and prone to the odd wrong decision, especially when deployed in defence but he will give WBA versatility and a real threat at set-pieces.
Many Millers fans prefer him in midfield rather than at the back, so it will be interesting to see where he will plays if he ends up at The Hawthorns.
