West Brom abandon Eric Djemba-Djemba deal after medical
Djemba-Djemba has had spells at Aston Villa and Manchester United
West Brom have abandoned their attempt to sign former Manchester United and Aston Villa midfielder Eric Djemba-Djemba for medical reasons.
Baggies boss Roberto Di Matteo held talks with the 29-year-old Cameroon international this week.
But Djemba-Djemba, currently with Odense of Denmark, failed tests on an unspecified medical condition and will not be offered a contract.
Di Matteo will now turn his attention to the search for a striker.
A club statement read: "West Brom have decided not to pursue their interest in Odense midfielder Eric Djemba-Djemba.
"He travelled to England to meet the club earlier this week but, following medical tests and further talks between the clubs, Albion have decided not to proceed with a deal."
The exact nature of the medical problem is unclear but West Brom clearly felt it was too great a risk to take a chance on a player who made only a limited impact at Old Trafford and Villa Park.
In four seasons with United and Villa, Djemba-Djemba made only 50 first-team appearances in total before moving to Burnley on loan. Meanwhile, Baggies trio Roman Bednar, Luke Moore and Simon Cox are all struggling for fitness and a bid to sign Liverpool's David N'Gog on loan looks to have failed.
"It is a big concern to us at the moment," said Di Matteo. "We are working on things but it's difficult. Everyone is after a striker.
"I've been saying since the end of last season that we need more players."
Ishmael Miller is the only experienced fit striker at present and Di Matteo has been linked with moves for Stoke's James Beattie and PSV Eindhoven's Marcus Berg.
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