What if we told you, West Brom supporters, that you could bring in five of the best players in their position anywhere in the Championship this summer without spending a single penny in transfer fees?
A fanciful idea, right? Well, perhaps not.
Because, whether through coincidence or design, most of Steve Bruce’s top transfer targets about to slip, slide and splash their way the free-agent pool, their contracts expiring on July 1.
After finding the net just 52 times in 46 games – fewer than Reading and Blackpool, and only twice more than crisis-hit Birmingham City – Bruce said what everyone yawning their way through another 90 forgettable minutes at the Hawthorns was thinking.
“We have to score more,” the former Newcastle United boss tells the Birmingham Mail, pointing out that West Brom have done about as good a job replacing Matheus Pereira as the X-Files did David Duchovny.
“That’s no disrespect to what we’ve got, but we have to add a bit of balance and flair to the squad because we need it.”
Big West Brom transfers are a must
The Athletic points out that John Swift and Jed Wallace – two players who hit double figures for assists in 2021/22 – are two of West Brom’s priority targets.
Reading are desperately trying to tie Swift down to a new deal. And, while there is still a glimmer of belief that an agreement can be reached, Wallace extinguished any lingering hopes regarding his own future with a very public farewell to the Millwall supporters following the final game of the Championship campaign.
Tom Lawrence is another target. The Wales international, like Swift and Wallace, is a reliable source of goals from an attacking midfield role. He is unlikely to stay at cash-strapped, recently-relegated Derby County.
Joe Rothwell is not quite so prolific in front of goal. But, what he lacks in numbers, he more than makes up for in ‘flair’. That old Brucey buzzword again.
Arguably the best ball-carrier outside of the Premier League – he’s been likened to Allan Saint-Maximin and Adama Traore for a reason – Rothwell provides a more-than welcome influx of thrust and guile in the centre of the park.
Rothwell’s Blackburn Rovers team-mate – and skipper – Darragh Lenihan is another out-of-contract West Brom target. A born leader and a better passer of the ball than any of West Brom’s current centre-halves, Lenihan would walk into a Baggies defence lacking character and composure.
“He’s standing like a man mountain,” said former Blackburn boss Tony Mowbray. “He’s right at the top of his game. You can just tell by the way he plays on the front foot.
“He’s towering over people six inches taller than him. His passing looks so assured. He’s a special footballer.”
When Bruce said last month that West Brom could require as many as ‘five or six’ new signings, questions quickly turned to how on earth the club could finance such a rebuild. Especially after CEO Ron Gourlay highlighted the obstacles facing Albion in the off-season.
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“It will not be easy to implement these changes and we will need to be shrewd in the transfer market,” Gourlay tells the Express and Star. “While the club remains financially sound, we continue to pay high wages and significant amortised fees for previous transfers.
“Which inevitably restricts what we can commit to transfers this summer.
“With that in mind, I simply will not spend more than we can afford.”
Bringing in Lenihan, Rothwell and one or two of Swift, Lawrence and Wallace without spending a penny in transfer fees; That certainly sounds ‘shrewd’ to us.
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