West Brom urged not to copy Sunderland as Shilen Patel transfer plans at The Hawthorns shared
Don Goodman has warned West Brom not to rely too heavily on signing youngsters in the summer transfer window.
Brett Morgan, a close friend of new West Brom chairman Shilen Patel, this week shared the American entrepreneur’s likely transfer strategy at The Hawthorns.
Patel supposedly wants to shake up Albion’s ageing squad by bringing in younger talents, much like Championship rivals Sunderland have done.
However, as has been the case at Stadium of Light this season, that does not always have the desired effect.
Speaking to West Brom News, Goodman said: “Anybody would look at Chelsea, or perhaps Sunderland for a more balanced model in the Championship – that’s the model those clubs use.
“Sunderland lost a brilliant manager in Tony Mowbray through refusing to change that model, and now I doubt very much they are going to get into the play-offs because they changed manager and their model means young players will be inconsistent.
“Young players need leadership around them and older heads. That’s something I had coming through as a 17-year-old breaking through at Bradford all those years ago.“
Tom Fellows flying flag for West Brom youngsters
Goodman added: “There was so much experience around and guidance – you need it. So somewhere in the middle would be ideal in terms of recruitment strategies.
“Yes, there are plenty of players either 30 or approaching that age. Would you want to change that? Probably.
“Dynamism is a massive part of modern day football and that might be one area where as a collective West Brom as a team may lack a little compared to some of the other clubs.
“But I’d be optimistic that whoever is in charge of the recruitment would look at a nice balance between youth and experience.
“There’s no doubt they have some great young talents coming through, like Tom Fellows, but you do need those experienced heads around you as well, there’s no doubt about that.”
Sunderland and West Brom average squad ages compared
Sunderland have the youngest average starting line-up in the Championship, aged between 22 and 23, whereas Albion have fielded the third-oldest this campaign at over 29 years of age on average.
If not for 20-year-old Tom Fellows, Albion’s average age across the campaign would be a lot higher. There are some players entering what you would consider peak age of between 27 and 30, but a nice mix between youth and experience is required.
There is certainly no harm in Patel bringing in some younger players in the summer, especially if they can be purchased for reasonable sums, but the Baggies cannot overrely on that approach.
Of course, at this point in time we do not know if West Brom will be playing in the Premier League next season or the Championship, so the players Albion can realistically move for will change depending on that.
Should they stay down, out-of-contract players Cedric Kipre and Alex Mowatt among others may have to be replaced. That presents a chance to bring in players aged 24 or younger.
By doing that, the club know that the player will still likely have a resale value a few years down the line, whereas a player now aged 30 of identical quality would likely attract a much smaller fee.
It makes for an intriguing summer ahead, and one that supporters can finally be excited about after feeding off scraps for too long now.
In other West Brom news, Shilen Patel’s thoughts on Carlos Corberan have been shared amid recent claims the Baggies chief could bring in a new manager.
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