Last Updated: Fri, 30 Mar 2012 09:34
Keith Downing has warned West Brom's defenders to be prepared for a tough time from in-form Everton striker Nikica Jelavic on Saturday.
The Baggies' assistant head coach has been helping Roy Hodgson prepare the squad for the trip to Goodison Park this weekend and is in no doubt where the danger will come from within the home side's ranks.
Albion were heavily linked with a swoop for 26-year-old Croatian striker, Jelavic, in the January transfer window when Everton pipped them to the post and snapped him up from cash-strapped Glasgow Rangers.
And, he now appears to have found his feet in the Premier League with three goals in five starts to help Everton win 2-0 at Swansea in the Premier League last week before they repeated the scoreline at Sunderland in the FA Cup quarter-final replay on Tuesday. As a result Downing wants the Albion stoppers to try and keep Jelavic quiet on Merseyside.
"Jelavic is dangerous in the box, gets into good areas and is a finisher - all the things we saw in him," said Downing on the club's website.
"He also holds the ball up and brings people into play.
"We'd have liked to have considered him - but he was out of our reach."
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