Don Goodman predicts possible automatic promotion for West Brom on one condition
Don Goodman insists a top-two finish cannot be ruled out for West Brom next season if the club get their recruitment right this summer.
The Baggies finished fifth in the 2023-24 campaign before losing in the play-off semi-finals to Southampton, who went on to earn promotion.
With Leicester City and Ipswich Town also now out of the picture, leaving only Leeds from last term’s top four, Goodman is optimistic about Albion’s chances – as long as Shilen Patel is willing to spend.
“The expectation among supporters will be for another top-six finish,” he told West Brom News. “I don’t think the Championship will be as strong as it was last season given the top four last season were the best top four in the competition’s history.
“West Brom were the best of the rest so will fancy being there again. You look at the teams that have come down and sometimes you can be relegated in a strong position, like Leicester, Southampton and Leeds were – i.e. you still have a Premier League squad.
“Or you can come down reasonably weak, which was also the case for West Brom in the past. That is where Sheffield United are; it’s where Luton are – can they keep their players? Burnley, likewise, are up in arms after losing their manager and cutting the cloth accordingly.
“So all of that means West Brom, for me, should definitely be aiming for a top-six finish, and depending on their recruitment done this summer, possibly an outside chance of the top two.”
West Brom must aim for Premier League promotion
West Brom were very much the ‘best of the rest’ last season, as Goodman points out, behind only an exceptional top four.
Leeds will be a force once again, but the three sides coming down looked terrible in the Premier League last season.
It may well be that Sheffield United, Burnley and Luton come good, as the relegated trio did last time out, but they certainly do not look daunting on paper.
Albion must focus simply on themselves, though, and that means bringing in at least a few more quality players.
After seeing a number of departures on the back of last season, and so far bringing in only Ousmane Diakite, it is over to owner Patel to reach into his pockets.
With the current squad as it stands, even a top-six finish would be a bit of a struggle. But with just a few more tweaks – and there is plenty of time to do that – then who knows?
In other West Brom news, Goodman has questioned if Carlos Corberan’s agent could be behind the recent links with Burnley and Leicester.
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