Pardew in talks over window of opportunity

ALAN PARDEW is planning a transfer summit with West Brom owner Guochuan Lai.

The new Baggies manager is anxious to discover how much he will have to spend during the window and the Chinese tycoon is flying in to watch today’s clash against Manchester United.

Pardew (below) is likely to be busy – not least fighting off huge interest in centre- half Jonny Evans.

He has experienced difficulties in the past – not least at Newcastle working under Mike Ashley – and is keen to have it spelled out exactly what will be available.

It appears that any cash that is likely to be raised from Evans’s sale – the Baggies are asking for £ 30million – will have to be re-invested.

Pardew said: “Subject to travel arrangements, the owner will be here. It will be the first time I’ve met him and I’ll probably talk to him about a lot of things.

“We’ve got an informal meeting as well as a formal one and it is important I understand what he wants to do with the club and, likewise that he understands what I would like to do. It has to go in unison really.

“It hasn’t always happened that my thinking is the same as the chairman or the board of a football club. Sometimes it’s not and you have to adjust your own ambitions.”

West Brom have struggled in front of goal, finding the net just 12 times, and that is certainly an area that Pardew will be looking to address.

However, he was happy with the return from Anfield in midweek. Pardew said: “There’s not many teams that would have got a clean sheet at Liverpool – particularly with the strikeforce they put out. “We might struggle to get the seven, eight or nine wins we need, so we need points from everywhere – and that was a great one. “Football is not chess. It’s quite logical. Quite simple. Don’t concede and build from there. “The defence has been brilliant and the midfield protection great as well. Now we need to go and score goals.”