Baggies confident on keeping England defender

Last updated : 24 January 2007 By Danny Deeming
Tony Mowbray admits he is finding it "difficult to tie deals down" at the moment - but is confident of keeping Curtis Davies at West Brom.Newcastle are the latest club lining up a bid to sign England Under-21 centre-half Davies - believed to be worth around £9million - after Glenn Roeder confirmed his interest in the former Luton defender. Baggies manager Mowbray has already praised Davies for the way he has handled the constant speculation about his future during the January transfer window. He is also optimistic the 21-year-old, who signed a new four-year contract last summer, will remain at The Hawthorns.
Mowbray, who rejected a £5million bid from Tottenham for Davies, said: "I am sure that Curtis will stay and will still be a West Brom player come February when the transfer window has closed. "We have 17 games left to try and get back into the Premier League so it's very important we don't lose our best players. There is so much speculation. Last week it was Tottenham, then Newcastle let in seven goals in two games and it's a case of 'let's see who has got a defender, West Brom have got one in Curtis Davies'. There is a connection in that the Newcastle coach Nigel Pearson used to be at West Brom but it is probably just another handle to link Newcastle with Davies. Like I said, I am sure he will still be here in February."
Mowbray is more concerned with bringing in new blood to bolster his squad, with the only addition to date being Slovenia international Robert Koren from Lillestrom.
He said: "I hope there will be some developments. It's proving difficult to tie deals down. If we don't get people in, we'll have to hope we don't get too many injuries or suspensions as we go along."