West Brom boss Tony Mowbray hopes Arsenal will allow him to keep Jay Simpson on loan next season, but admits Marc-Antoine Fortune may move on.

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Albion have held conversations with Arsenal about retaining the services of Simpson, who was brought in during the winter transfer window.

Simpson has scored twice in eight appearances for the Baggies but it remains to be seen whether he would want to stay if the club are relegated, even if Arsene Wenger sanctioned such a move.

Mowbray said: "It's something we've tiptoed into with Arsenal. At this moment we'll keep those conversations in-house.

"But it is something we've explored - and we'll see what's decided in the longer term."

As regards on-loan Nancy forward Fortune, Mowbray said: "Marc knows we would like to keep him regardless of what happens. He's shown his quality and talent.

"But we're not in the driving seat. He'll probably sit down at the end of the season and decide what he thinks. There is no 'lockdown' for us in his contract.

"We can't just say 'you're staying', regardless of what happens. It's an open-ended contract. If we were to go down and he decided he didn't want to play in the Championship, he wouldn't have to."

Mowbray has also revealed his interest in Swindon's 27-goal striker Simon Cox.

He said: "I think a lot of people are keeping an eye on Simon Cox. He is scoring a few goals and you're not doing your job if you're not looking at him."