Tony Mowbray has warned the vultures off the services of Marc-Antoine Fortuné as he tries to persuade the loan star to sign permanently at The Hawthorns.
An exclusive deal has already been agreed between Albion and Nancy but the 27-year-old’s future lays solely in his own hands.
Fourteen Premier League scouts witnessed Fortuné’s brace during the 3-1 win over Wigan Athletic on Saturday with local rivals Wolves reportedly interested in adding the former Lille front-man to their ranks.
However, the Baggies boss is confident he can persuade Fortune to extend his stay at The Hawthorns – regardless of what division Albion are in next season.
"Depending on which paper you read there are a lot more clubs than Wolves interested," said Mowbray.
"He is a good player but I am not going to build him up too big.
"I could say he hasn't scored enough goals.
"He has plenty of parts to his game that he needs to work on.
"And yet I like to think this could be the club where he can grow and develop, and keep going.
"If we did go down I hope he sees this as the place that he would like to stay.
"He enjoys the atmosphere around our training ground and will try and help us bounce back.
"Obviously I would like to keep him."