Sam Allardyce eyes Foxes’ Hamza Choudhury as he looks to shore up West Brom

Baggies boss Sam Allardyce is determined to land a defensive midfielder during the January transfer window.

And Choudhury is a player he admires and who has been made available for loan by Leicester.

The 23-year-old has made 10 appearances for Brendan Rodgers’ side this season.

But only two of those have been in the Premier League with the vast majority having come in the Europa League.

It is understood Choudhury is eager to play more regularly this term.

And that has led to Leicester making him available for loan with the player having been offered to Albion, Newcastle and Southampton amongst others.

But while the Baggies admire Choudhury they know they have to box incredibly clever with the signings they make this window.

Premier League rules state you can only sign two domestic loanees.

Albion already have Conor Gallagher on loan from Chelsea who – along with goalkeeper Sam Johnstone – has arguably been their best player this season.

And with Allardyce determined to sign a defender, a striker and a defensive midfielder as the bare minimum this window, the club has to explore all the options open to them.

As it stands, Sam Field is the only out and out holding midfielder in the squad.

But the 22-year-old has missed the majority of the season through injury and is inexperienced.

It is understood Field is closing in on a return to fitness.

But Allardyce wants a holding midfielder with more experience.

And while Jake Livermore has also played there, it is felt he is better suited to a more box-to-box midfield role.

Allardyce is scouring at home and abroad to find players to improve the spine of Albion’s team. And if can bring in a defender and striker without having to use his domestic loan then Choudhury is a player under serious consideration.

But if he can’t he will have to give even more thought to how he uses his second domestic loan.

Meanwhile, the Express & Star understands reports suggesting Albion are interested in signing Crystal Palace defender Mamadou Sakho and Everton striker Cenk Tosun are wide of the mark.

Allardyce signed both Sakho and Tosun when he was in charge at Palace and Everton respectively.

But Sakho is currently earning a six-figure salary in London – a wage that is likely to put off a host of suitors.

While up front, Allardyce has identified a number of strikers at home and abroad who he likes – with Tosun understood to not be on the list.