West Bromwich Albion’s business in January could be key to them sustaining a promotion push back to the Premier League.
The Baggies are spending a fourth consecutive season in the Championship since relegation from the top flight after being edged out by Southampton in last season’s play-off semi-final over two legs.
Under new ownership of Shilen Patel in the Black Country, Albion recruited 11 players during the summer transfer window in order to bolster the squad ahead of another second tier term, hoping the additions can push them one step further back to the promised land.
|West Brom - 2024/25 Summer Signings|
|Player Name|Signed From|Loan/Permanent|
|---|
|Mikey Johnston|Celtic|Permanent|
|Callum Styles|Barnsley|Permanent|
|Torbjorn Heggem|Brommapojkarna|Permanent|
|Gianluca Frabotta|Juventus|Permanent|
|Devante Cole|Barnsley|Permanent|
|Ousmane Diakite|TSV Hartberg|Permanent|
|Joe Wildsmith|Derby County|Permanent|
|Mason Holgate|Everton|Loan|
|Paddy McNair|San Diego|Loan|
|Uros Racic|Sassuolo|Loan|
|Lewis Dobbin|Aston Villa|Loan|
It’s been well documented that West Brom are still working around financial difficulty despite Patel’s investment, with the club placed under an EFL-imposed business plan, hindering their amount of transfer business.
With January undoubtedly a difficult market to navigate through at the best of times, the Baggies’ spending through the new year could be limited, but the West Midlands outfit will be hopeful some activity can be completed to allow supporters to remain optimistic heading into the second half of the season.
Here at Football League World, we suggest an incoming and outgoing that Albion should negotiate to kick off a perfect start to the January transfer window.
In: Besard Sabovic
West Brom fans outside The Hawthorns
One priority incoming Carlos Corberan should be looking to make is Swedish midfielder Besard Sabovic, who is currently playing his football with native side Djurgården.
The Baggies targeted the 26-year-old, whose contract is ticking down and expires at the end of 2024, to bolster their midfield back in the summer, with a bid being rejected according to journalist Anel Avdić.
According to a report from Avdić, there is hope from the Swedish outfit that a new deal can be agreed to fend off any incoming interest during the early stages of 2025, but their sporting director Bosse Andersson and the player haven’t managed to agree anything concrete as his future hangs in the balance.
Sabovic can operate in either holding midfield or as a box-to-box midfielder. It would be viewed as a bargain deal with Albion potentially exposing his contract situation and recruiting a player from a very undervalued division.
With the Baggies still feeling the departure of Okay Yokuslu, this signing would be ideal to introduce more rotation in the midfield ranks during the second half of the campaign as well recruiting a versatile player who can add another layer of protection to the backline.
Out: Jed Wallace
Copy of FLW 169 IMAGE (2)-10
Someone West Brom should be looking to move out the door is club captain Jed Wallace, who has become more of a squad player as he enters his third season at The Hawthorns.
The former Millwall man has struggled for consistent first-team minutes due to Baggies academy graduate Tom Fellows operating on the right flank, who is continuing to emerge as a standout second-tier talent in the blue and white stripes.
Corberan x Zohore - West Brom Related
West Brom: Shilen Patel and Carlos Corberan should look at £8m disaster as warning
As Carlos Corberan and Shilen Patel undoubtedly dip into the winter window next month, lessons can be learned from an £8m disaster.
Recording only six goals and five assists from 45 Championship appearances last term isn’t a tally likely to help Albion get back into the top flight, so the Baggies must consider cutting ties with the winger in order to recruit another wideman who can add more attacking contributions and keep Fellows on his toes by providing some healthy competition.
With fellow Championship outfits Luton Town and one of Wallace’s former employers in Portsmouth, registering an interest earlier in the summer for his services, Wallace is a likely candidate to wave goodbye to B71.