Albion take methodical transfer approach

Albion's transfer activity in this window might fly under the radar compared to other clubs, but a methodical and purposeful approach is starting to become clearer.

Some very experienced but also well-paid talent left at the end of last season.

Club captain Jed Wallace, Josh Maja, Daryl Dike and Karlan Grant all departed after their contracts expired, while Alex Mowatt and Krystian Bielik were sold to Championship rivals Derby and Cardiff respectively in recent weeks. They amassed almost 2,000 appearances in the second tier between them.

They've been replaced by 10 players whose pockets aren't as heavy but they are largely much younger and extremely hungry to reach their potential.

Jimmy-Jay Morgan will no doubt be a Premier League player in the future, while people are purring behind the scenes at what they've seen from French midfielder Rabby Nzingoula. Both are just 20 years old, and, at 21, Spanish winger Kareem Tunde has already mixed it in La Liga with Lamine Yamal and Kylian Mbappe.

Toby Collyer, himself just 22, has also been backed to return to the top flight one day after leaving Manchester United for The Hawthorns.

The one concern is not necessarily the age, but the fact that six of the new arrivals had not tasted English football before signing for the Baggies. We'll find out soon enough how they fare during this hard slog of a season.

Experience was at least added in goalkeeper Matt Ingram, who is back-up to the very able Max O'Leary, while 33-year-old Conor Townsend returned to the club as defensive cover.

Ironically, Townsend was one of six players over the age of 28 who started their play-off semi-final defeat in May 2024 at Southampton, which is where this rebuild quietly began just three months after owners Bilkul took over the then financially stricken club.

Since then, they've had to sell some top talent, deal with a points deduction for breaching EFL financial rules and adapt to life without Premier League parachute payments. But the issues that inspired the new strategy are in the rear-view mirror.

There may be disappointment from fans that they didn't add a fourth striker on deadline day, but rather than panic, the club has stuck to the wider plan and not bought for the sake of it.

The Throstles identified options earlier in the window and that included former Villa frontman Cameron Archer, but I understand they weren't willing to undo the hard work they've undertaken by matching his large wages at Southampton.

The only arrival on the final day was right-sided defender Brayann Pereira from Dutch side NEC Nijmegen. Crucially, nobody left that the Baggies didn't want to part company with.

From one of the oldest squads, and biggest wage bills, in the division three years ago, West Bromwich Albion now has a lean line-up in terms of numbers, but an average age of under 25, and they are being guided by the perfect person.

By head coach standards, James Morrison is also a 'bairn' as the Darlington native might say.

The 40-year-old is softly spoken, but honest, and you can tell he has the same drive and desire to succeed as a boss that he had as an Albion player. You don't make more than 300 Premier League appearances and represent your country on 46 occasions without that in your DNA.

The ultimate aim of the club is, of course, to return to the Premier League, but patience is still key.

Some of the talent that's been recruited may move on before that ambition is achieved, but it will be for a much higher fee than they paid.

Most importantly Albion now have more control over the process and the recruitment team behind the scenes will have one eye on the next batch of prospects for Morrison to mould.