Now, we know what you’re thinking.
This is a line-up that even Garth Crooks might consider a little ‘unbalanced’. A team consisting of Kemar Roofe and Serge Gnabry as twin number eights, Harvey Barnes as a wing-back and 18-year-old Tim Iroegbunam holding the fort all on his own in central midfield.
But just go with us here. West Brom supporters have seen more than their fair share of talented young prospects slip through their fingers in recent years.
It just so happens that, erm, there’s not many central midfielders or right-backs amongst a highly talented bunch. What this XI lacks in disciplined right-sided defenders, however, it more than makes up for in firepower.
Ryan Allsop – Derby County
Ok, this well-travelled 29-year-old shot-stopper might not have ended up winning Champions League titles with Bayern Munich or dominating Serie A with Inter Milan but Allsop has still carved out a very respectable career in the lower leagues.
The Birmingham-born glovesman has played 33 games for Derby County this season and was a key part of the Wycombe Wanderers side who surprisingly sealed promotion to the second-tier in 2020.
Nathan Ferguson – Crystal Palace
A relentless and unforgiving series of injuries have limited the versatile defender to just one Premier League appearance since swapping West Bromwich for Crystal Palace two years ago.
But 21-year-old Ferguson, who turned down a new deal at the Hawthorns before being snapped up by former Baggies boss Roy Hodgson, could still be an excellent addition to a Palace side who are making it their mission to lure the EFL’s most exciting youngsters to Selhurst Park, a la Michael Olise and Ebere Eze.
Tosin Adarabioyo – Fulham
Back in the Premier League after storming to promotion with Fulham, the colossal centre-back is one of the first names on Marco Silva’s star-studded (at least, by Championship standards) team sheet.
The Cottagers paid a bargain £2 million for the one-time Manchester City youngster not long after his impressive loan spell at West Brom.
Mason Holgate – Everton
Another homegrown centre-back who spent time on loan at the Baggies, West Brom wanted to sign Holgate on a permanent basis and they might have been in luck if parent club Everton had not missed out on Kurt Zouma later that summer.
Holgate may be returning to his old stomping ground next season with The Toffees stuck in the relegation zone and facing up to their first campaign outside the top-flight since 1951.
Tim Iroegbunam – Aston Villa
You could probably make another team constructed entirely out of players who swapped West Brom for Bodymoor Heath. Iroegbunam may be the biggest loss of all as far as Baggies fans are concerned. Especially with their 2021 Academy Player of the Year threatening to force his way into the Aston Villa first-team.
“He played with calmness and maturity,” Steven Gerrard told the Birmingham Mail after Iroegbunam’s 18-minute cameo against Leicester City on Saturday. “He’s a top professional.
“We think the world of him. He’s got a big future here.”
Jacob Murphy – Newcastle United
The versatile wideman followed Holgate to the Hawthorns in January 2019 but any hopes West Brom had of keeping him around for the long-term went up in smoke when they lost to old rivals Villa in the Championship play-offs.
Murphy is now a valuable member of the Newcastle United squad, thanks to his versatility and boundless energy. He set up Joelinton’s second goal in Saturday’s 3-0 win at Norwich City.
Harvey Barnes – Leicester City
It’s difficult to sum up just how impressive Barnes was during his dazzling but short-lived spell in the Black Country during the first half of the 2018/19 season. The fact that Leicester jumped to bring him back midway through the campaign tells it’s own story.
Described as an ‘unbelievable’ talent by none other than Jurgen Klopp, Barnes is an outside bet for a place in England’s Qatar World Cup squad.
Kemar Roofe – Rangers
Walsall-born Roofe didn’t even make a first-team appearance for West Brom before being let go in 2015. It took just one year at Oxford United, however, for Leeds United to take a punt. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Roofe was the club’s top scorer during Marcelo Bielsa’s debut season. And, after a spell at Anderlecht, he helped Rangers break Celtic’s stranglehold of the Scottish scene north of the border.
Serge Gnabry – Bayern Munich
Sorry Tyler Roberts. There was only one man who ever was going to join Roofe and Lukaku in a formidable West Brom frontline. If there is a trophy Gnabry hasn’t won at club level, then it probably isn’t worth winning.
A four-time Bundesliga champion, a Germany international and a conqueror of the continent in 2020, Gnabry has certainly come a long way since being snubbed by Tony Pulis at the Hawthorns.
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Chris Wood – Newcastle United
The New Zealand native has not set the world alight since his £25 million move to Newcastle United. But his record at Burnley is worthy of respect. Wood hit double figures in each of his four Premier League campaigns at Turf Moor, netting 14 times in 2019/20 alone.
An old-school centre-forward, West Brom left for just £1 million. He also has a Championship Golden Boot on his CV.
Romelu Lukaku – Chelsea
Who else? Chelsea might have given Lukaku his chance in a major league, he may have played the best football of his career at Everton and Inter Milan, but it was at West Brom where the Belgian battering ram really made his name.
No one has ever scored more goals in a single top-flight campaign for the Baggies than Lukaku. Three of his 18 in 2012/13 came in a final day hat-trick against Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United.
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