Tony Pulis confirmed that West Bromwich Albion are closing in on a deal to bring £8 million Hull City defender James Chester to The Hawthorns.

Speaking after his sides 2-0 away victory at Walsall in a pre-season friendly thanks to second-half goals from Saido Berahino and Brown Ideye, Pulis believed the deal to sign Chester was close to be finalised.

He said: “When I left the ground (earlier today) we were very close to getting the deal done.”

Leicester City were thought to have made a last minute bid for the former Manchester United player, however Pulis felt that he had done enough to convince Chester to join the Baggies.

“I’ve met the lad, had a good chat with the lad and you hope that we bring him in,” he said.

“He’s a very good young player. He’s the type of player I like — strong character, good defender and he’s got good feet as well.  

“He’s been brought up well as a Manchester United boy. They’ve got that stamp on them the people I’ve bought from Manchester United — (Ryan) Shawcross and (Darren) Fletcher, for example, have all been wonderful lads.”

The Welshman also confirmed that he was looking to strengthen his squad further with the signing of former Wolverhampton Wanderers winger Bakary Sako also on the cards after the player became a free agent in the summer.

He said: “He (Sako) is one of maybe six or seven players that we’ve enquired about and are talking to. Some drop for you and some don’t.  

“I think the most important thing is everyone stays nice and patient. It’s difficult. It’s the feeding season. You have to be careful because you can get caught by signing players that don't improve what you’ve got and we don't want to get in that situation.”

Liverpool striker Rickie Lambert is also a target for Albion with uncertainty still surrounding the future of Berahino despite the club tweeting that no formal bid had been received for the England striker.

“Rickie’s available. Liverpool have made that known and we’d be interested,” said Pulis. 

“I think it’s very important that we get players who can score goals and Rickie has got a great goal scoring record.

“He didn't play last year so it’s like bringing a brand new car out of the garage if we did sign him. Just putting a bit of petrol in it and letting him run.”