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Transfer guide

West Brom are a club constantly living to a budget, and this summer will be no different. Baggies' fans cannot hope to beat the achievements of last season, but they will be aware that their squad requires improvement if an eighth-placed finish is not going to be wasted by standing still.

We break down who West Brom should be signing and weigh up how much cash might be in the kitty.

What's been said: "Youssouf (Mulumbu) has been excellent for us since I have been here and is one of the players we want to keep. I think come the summer the ones that we have to keep - that I want to keep - will still be at the club" - Steve Clarke. The budget: The Baggies signed only one player for a fee last summer (Ben Foster, £4m) and probably won't have much more to spend this year. What's needed: Clarke may know who he wants to keep at the Hawthorns but he faces a tough battle to hold onto the Baggies' best performer in 2012/13 as Romelu Lukaku waits to learn Chelsea's bidding. With Borussia Dortmund linked with a loan move for the striker, it's likely that West Brom will miss out and so Clarke must begin his search for fire-power elsewhere. Markus Rosenberg's struggles last season revealed the risk of shopping for freebies and Clarke will need to spend the majority of his funds on a striker with a proven goalscoring record if West Brom are to repeat their top-half finish. Evian striker Saber Khelifa is supposedly on Clarke's wishlist, while a move for Blackburn's 27-goal striker Jordan Rhodes has been mooted. Considering Rovers paid £8m for the 23-year-old in 2012, he should be out of the Baggies' price range. Clarke will also need to find a replacement for £4m-rated Youssouf Mulumbu if Fiorentina follow up their interest in the midfielder and a dip into the Championship or loan market should be expected. Ideal signing:Like almost every club in the Premier League, West Brom require a goalscorer and, although unimaginative, the Baggies' best bit of business may be extending Romelu Lukaku's loan by a further season. Would Jose do Steve Clarke a favour? Sky Bet: The Baggies are expected to be in the market to sign a striker now leading scorer Romelu Lukaku has returned to parent club Chelsea. Reading's Adam Le Fondre is considered a 7/2 chance to move to the Hawthorns, while Carlton Cole and Franco Di Santo are both 4/1 to arrive. Esteban Granero is also thought to be a target and is 7/4 to join, while Scott Sinclair is 5/1 to end his brief spell at Manchester City by moving to the Midlands. Transfer specials here Release list: Marc-Antoine Fortune, Zoltan Gera, Gonzalo Jara Reyes, Romaine Sawyers, Jerome Thomas Read our up-to-the-minute live West Brom transfer feed here

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