West Brom sign Okay Yokuslu on loan

A Turkey international, the 26-year-old has joined the Baggies on a temporary deal until the end of the season.

The Express & Star understands Yokuslu will arrive in England later this week with manager Sam Allardyce saying he is likely to be on the bench for Sunday's clash at Tottenham.

Baggies fans have been crying out for the club to sign a defensive midfielder ever since the transfer window opened.

And Allardyce hopes Yokuslu can impact Albion in the same way Luka Milivojević did while he was in charge of Crystal Palace.

He said: "I don’t want to put too much pressure on him, hopefully, he won’t’ hear this, but in the past Luka Milivojević at Crystal Palace made a massive difference in that position – sitting midfield – protecting the back four which is massive for us because we concede too many goals.

"But also his passing ability – both short and long range – is what we have been looking at.

"I think signing him shows just how hard the pandemic has hit everyone.

If he - like Mbaye Diagane - is willing to come to the Premier League and fight with us it shows you that we have probably been a little fortunate in this window and taken advantage of it and get players of their calibre to come and join us.

"Taking advantage of the pandemic is what I think we have done.

"And to get them on loan has been a long haul. But to get two players on loan with this sort of quality, I think is really great for all the hard work we have done behind the scenes.

"It’s been a tough old negotiation. Yes as a manager I would have liked them in quicker – absolutely I would have. Would it have made a difference? Who knows.

"But the important thing is that we get them in the end because there is obviously 17 games to go and hopefully points and wins will come more often than defeats.

"His strengths will help us. The only question to be worried about is can he do it straight away? We hope he can because we haven’t got the time.

"There is a possibility that it won’t happen. It's not easy adapting to the Premier League in January.

"But we have to take that chance with the quality of the player he is."

Asked if Yokuslu could feature at Tottenham, Allardyce said: "He could be on the bench.

"I think it’s unlikely I’ll throw him straight into the mix. I’ve tried that once before and the player didn’t cope.

"We don’t want the whole of the outside world throwing criticism at him.

"I have to protect him because players read the media. They read social media and that might have an effect on them.

"I’ve got to try and avoid that. I’ll be cautious about when he can go in, but probably a sub against Tottenham."

Albion technical director Luke Dowling said: “It has been a priority since the start of the January window to build on the quality we already have in the building and, in Okay, we have a proven international midfielder who we believe can help us in our battle to remain in the Premier League.

“As was the case with Mbaye Diagne and Robert Snodgrass, it is important the players joining us understand the situation in which we find ourselves, and are prepared to fight to help us achieve our goal.

"It is testament to Okay that he has also made the decision to commit himself to that challenge.

“Okay is a battling midfielder who wears his heart on his sleeve.

"We look forward to him joining up with his team-mates later this week as they prepare to face Tottenham on Sunday.”