Joe Roberts

Fri 1 September 2023 7:40, UK

West Brom should be the busiest club in England on deadline day amid their links to multiple transfer targets late in the window.

The Baggies have had a decent start to the Championship season. Since losing to Blackburn Rovers on the opening day of the season, Carlos Corberan has remained unbeaten in his subsequent three fixtures, picking up impressive points against Leeds United and high-scoring victories against Middlesbrough and Swansea.

However, more work is to be done in the market. West Brom are yet to spend any money this window but have brought in two young attacking stars, Josh Maja on a free transfer and Jeremey Sarmiento on loan from Brighton, to bolster their squad.

In terms of outgoings, losing key centre-back Dara O’Shea was a big blow, while the departure of long-serving veteran Jake Livermore to Watford leaves the Baggies with a little less experience.

However, West Brom are often busy on deadline day, and this trend does not look like changing this summer. The Express and Star reported (30 August) that Corberan wants to sign an attacking midfielder or a “versatile” forward option this summer, which seems wise given Daryl Dike’s absence and Maja’s lack of fitness.

Interest in attacking players has been prevalent in the Baggies’ summer business, with Sky Sports recently reporting in their live blog (31 August, 01:46 pm) that they could rival Norwich City for Bournemouth winger Jamal Lowe.

However, the key area that most West Brom fans would urge Corberan to be strengthened is central midfield. While their starting options of Okay Yokuslu and Jayson Molumby are quality options and have served their clubs well so far this season, the lack of depth here could be their downfall.

Luckily for anxious Baggies fans, the club are seemingly in the market to bolster this area with first-team-ready talent. Sunday Mirror reporter Darren Witcoop claimed (31 August) that West Brom had, along with Sheffield Wednesday, asked Newcastle United about the availability of Issac Hayden on a loan deal.

While Hayden is no longer a regular on Tyneside after the Toon’s takeover, he would be a quality addition to the side and, as a player well-versed in the difficulties of Championship football, his experience could be highly valuable.

West Brom would have been disappointed to miss out on Lewis O’Brien, with BBC Sports claiming (24 August) that the midfielder was expected to leave Nottingham Forest on loan and that the Baggies had been linked for “the past few weeks”.

Middlesbrough will be happy to have secured that loan deal, but it certainly highlights where West Brom are planning to upgrade.

Outside of midfield options, Leeds United’s Cody Drameh had been linked with a loan move to the Hawthorns, with The Athletic claiming on their live transfer blog (31 August, 11:49) that the full-back is allowed to depart Elland Road amid interest from the Baggies and Birmingham City.

However, per Fabrizio Romano (1 September), Birmingham won that race, but again this shows the Baggies’ eagerness to strengthen.

Elsewhere, likes of USMNT right-back Reggie Cannon have been linked to a Hawthorns move by The Daily Mail (28 August), while Forest defender Jonathan Panzo is said to be of interest, according to Darren Witcoop.

Funds are tight at the Hawthorns, so Corberan and the West Brom hierarchy are likely to utilise loan deals or sign up free agents to add quality depth to the side.

While the Baggies may see their fair share of outgoings too, with Grady Diangana’s future still uncertain, if history suggests anything there may be more incoming at the Hawthorns before the window shuts.

In other West Brom news, a journalist was wowed by a Baggies performance against Middlesbrough.