West Bromwich Albion boss Alan Irvine has revealed he tried to sign Charlie Austin a few years ago.
25-year old Austin scored a hat-trick for QPR as the west London club came from two goals down to defeat Albion at Loftus Road on Saturday afternoon.
In the wake of Austin's exploits, Baggies manager Irvine spoke of his desire to get the former Burnley man across to Sheffield Wednesday when he was in charge in 2010/11 indicating that he was well aware the then-Swindon Town player could produce these types of match-winning performances.
"When I was manager of Sheffield Wednesday I wanted to sign him," Irvine said.
"I recognised the ability he had at that time, I didn't know how far he would be able to go but as a League One player he was certainly capable of playing in the Championship and beyond that.
"He is a player I have been aware of for a long time."
Austin's treble of goals was the first by a QPR player in the Premier League in 21 years, taking his season tally to 11 from 15 appearances. He sits behind Manchester City's Sergio Aguero (14) and Chelsea's Diego Costa (12) on the Golden Boot chart.
