The Premier League Panel Which teams will get better or worse next season
Ryan Mason must strengthen The Baggies in January to boost hopes of Premier League promotion
The Baggies released a huge 14 players over the summer while five more departed for fees and six were loaned out, an extraordinary turnover on the squad that was in the top six as late as April but eventually slumped to ninth.
In return, 11 players arrived (three of them on loan) including from Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United, and in that context it’s been a positive start under Ryan Mason despite recent results dropping the club out of the playoff places.
They’ll likely need to bring in some impact players in January if they are to stay in promotion contention all the way this time around though so in light of that and the imminent release of Football Manager 26, we hopped into the FM26 Beta and looked at what it predicted for the next transfer window…
Preston North End duo lead nine predicted West Brom arrivals
Alan Browne - £2.1 million from Sunderland - After all those years toiling away at Preston North End, Browne’s Championship purgatory finally appeared to be over when he won promotion in his first season at Sunderland in May.
However, 2024/25 saw Browne play his fewest minutes since his debut season at Deepdale over a decade ago and instead of getting his crack at the Premier League, he was shuffled off to Middlesbrough where he’s started just three games in all competitions this campaign. It’s somewhat baffling given his proven Championship pedigree but The Boro’s loss can be West Brom’s gain while the opportunity for their asset to get regular minutes again would surely be an attractive one for Sunderland.
Jayden Meghoma - loan from Brentford - The second successive former Lilywhite on this list, Meghoma was a rare ray of light at Deepdale last season and he’s already started 12 games for Rangers this campaign alongside starring for England U20.
While he’s still somewhat raw, Meghoma has all the tools to be dangerous both in and out of possession and would be a fantastic addition for Mason. Though unlike Browne, it’s harder to see why parent club Brentford would rather change his loan destination.
Jaden Heskey - £1m from Manchester City - Continuing the strong family tradition in the Midlands, Emile Heskey made over 350 appearances at Leicester City, Aston Villa and Birmingham City and his son Jaden has since made waves in the Manchester City academy. The midfielder made his senior Citizens debut in the EFL Cup this season while hilariously, Scott Carson also swaps the Etihad Stadium for The Hawthorns in this prediction.
Dimitri Foulquier - £475,000m from Valencia - The right-back previously had a short-lived stint at Watford but he has bags of experience so this feels . Brad Collins and Dujuan Richards arrive for nominal fees from Coventry City and Chelsea, while West Brom also scoop up free agents or Leo Cardoso and Asher Agbinone.
Promotion-chasing Baggies cut departures
Akeel Higgins - £375,000 to Huddersfield Town - The versatile forward had a slow start to life on loan at Exeter but notched his first goal at the end of October and could turn out to be a bargain for Huddersfield who’d obviously be able to provide a more direct route to the first team than at The Hawthorns.
Cole Deeming - £375,000 to Leeds United - Deeming has experience ahead of his years in West Broms’ youth ranks but he’d simply be transferring academies in this scenario.
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