West Brom boss Tony Pulis acknowledges admiration for Watford's Troy Deeney

West Bromwich Albion head coach Tony Pulis has acknowledged that he is an admirer of Watford forward Troy Deeney.

Earlier this year, Pulis was linked with a big-money move for Deeney, who has netted 23 goals in two seasons in the Premier League and hails from the West Midlands.

A move never materialised but ahead of the fixture between the two sides at The Hawthorns, Pulis has admitted that there has been interest in the forward in the past.

The 59-year-old is quoted by the Express & Star as saying: "We've liked Deeney. The first couple of years in the Premier League he did exceptionally well for Watford.

"He's a Watford player so it's difficult for me to talk – especially playing them – too much about. But yes, I've been an admirer from a distance.

"We were desperate to bring a No.9 in and that's the position that we never managed to fill. Having said that, we are confident we will score goals if we keep creating chances, but there might be someone else out there that we think is better than we've got now and we'll move on that."

West Brom will go above Watford in the Premier League standings if they can emerge victorious on Saturday afternoon.