Don Goodman: West Brom need to do what Nottingham Forest did if they win Premier League promotion
Don Goodman believes West Brom are “going to need a new team” if they achieve promotion to the Premier League.
The Baggies are on course to finish in the play-offs this season as they look to return to the top flight after a three-year absence.
A number of Albion players are due to be out of contract in the summer, while others – namely Mikey Johnston – will return to their parent club.
With that in mind, and question marks over the quality of some, Goodman believes West Brom could look completely different in 2024-25.
“Each of the players that are due to be out of contract have each had brilliant seasons, the exception probably being Matty Phillips as he has suffered tragically with injuries,” Goodman told West Brom News.
“There would have been question marks over each of them coming into the season. But look, let’s have it right – if West Bromwich Albion win the play-offs and get to the Premier League, they’re going to need a new team, literally.
“A little like Nottingham Forest a couple of years ago. But I can’t see West Brom, with their history, doing that. They’re going to need players, regardless of which league they’re in, and it’ll be fascinating.
“With those players, they’ve done themselves no harm whatsoever with the seasons they’ve had, whether they stay or go, they’ll have each had an excellent season.”
Which West Brom players are out of contract this summer?
Twelve West Brom players are either due to be out of contract at The Hawthorns this summer or will see their loan deals expire.
Those players are Alex Mowatt, Cedric Kipre, Pipa, Callum Marshall, Nathaniel Chalobah, Mikey Johnston, Andi Weimann, Yann M’Vila, Adam Reach, Matt Phillips, Erik Pieters and Martin Kelly.
While some of those will not be missed – indeed, it will be a blessing getting some wages off the books – Carlos Corberan will no doubt be eager for a few of them to agree fresh terms.
Forest, the example raised by Goodman, managed to stay up in their first season back in the Premier League despite a huge overhaul during the 2022 summer transfer window.
Regardless of what division Albion are in, though, they will not want to effectively rip up what they have and start again.
Instead, Corberan will want to keep the core of this current group, which has overachieved this season in the grand scheme of things, and add three or four players that can improve the starting XI further.
And it may well be that the club will first wait to see what division they will be competing in come August before any contracts are dished out. In that case, watch this space.
In other West Brom news, Goodman has made a prediction regarding Corberan after a “remarkable” development.
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