All four of West Brom’s winter signings ranked as Eric Ramsay hurtles towards relegation
Eric Ramsay welcomed four new West Brom signings to The Hawthorns this winter.
It was always going to be a tough window to operate in for West Brom, with Shilen Patel unable to spare much money for transfers.
There were just a couple of first-team outgoings too, as Joe Wildsmith joined Middlesbrough on loan in the final hours of Monday’s transfer deadline day, following Samuel Iling-Junior out.
So, with Ramsay’s side being dragged ever further into relegation danger, have the Albion done enough in the market to give themselves the best chance of Championship survival?
West Brom News ranks all four of the Baggies’ signings from the winter transfer window.
Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba – 8
Signed on deadline day, Jamaldeen Jimoh-Aloba joins West Brom on loan from Midlands rivals Aston Villa until the end of the season.
The 19-year-old is a versatile midfielder who can operate pretty much anywhere across the centre of the park, and can even push forward if needed.
Despite still only being a teenager, Jimoh-Aloba is over six feet tall and is an imposing presence, and has already made six first-team appearances for Villa.
His most recent came a matter of days ago, when he came off the bench and scored the winning goal in Villa’s 3-2 win over Salzburg in the Europa League on 29 January.
Jimoh-Aloba should offer something entirely different to what Albion already have in attack, and could bring some similar qualities to Tom Fellows, who the Baggies are missing dearly since his summer exit.
This is the type of signing that could inject that star quality into West Brom’s team, and the youngster may just make the difference in Albion’s survival fight.
Danny Imray – 5
Signed on loan for the rest of the season from Crystal Palace, Danny Imray has been rising through the English footballing pyramid impressively over the last few years.
Having joined Palace from non-league side Chelmsford City in February 2021, the right wing-back spent last season out on loan with League Two side Bromley, where he became a key player.
The 22-year-old has spent the first half of this season with League One outfit Blackpool, and also enjoyed some strong performances there before being summoned back to Selhurst Park ahead of his Albion move.
However, Imray endured a dismal West Brom debut against Portsmouth on 31 January, being withdrawn at half-time for Alfie Gilchrist.
With Ramsay still seemingly undecided on what formation he wants to play, Imray’s role in the team doesn’t appear immediately obvious.
On top of that, Albion already have a right-back/right wing-back in the aforementioned Gilchrist who good money was spent in the summer to bring him to The Hawthorns from Chelsea.
With the Championship now being his highest level of football played in his career so far, this presents as a somewhat strange signing that isn’t the sort of move Albion should be making in their current predicament.
Max O’Leary – 3
Many West Brom fans were calling for a new goalkeeper to be signed in the winter window, but Albion’s permanent signing of Max O’Leary probably isn’t what most of them had in mind.
Like Imray, O’Leary also endured a rough Baggies debut when he was at fault for Derby’s opening goal in the 1-1 draw on 23 January.
Things only got worse against Portsmouth, as the 29-year-old shipped three goals at Fratton Park, the second of which was particularly poor on his part after being nutmegged by Millenic Alli.
As such, the early signs are that O’Leary isn’t really an upgrade on the previous number one, Josh Griffiths, and if that remains the case, this can only go down as a really poor signing for Albion.
Hindolo Mustapha – 6
Signed in a deadline-busting deal, Hindolo Mustapha joins West Brom on loan from Crystal Palace until the end of the season.
Another tall and athletically eye-catching player for such a young age (19), Mustapha is a real unknown quantity of a signing, and that will excite as much as it will worry West Brom supporters.
Capable of playing out wide but seemingly an attacking midfielder by trade, the Sierra Leone international spent the first half of this season on loan with German Regionalliga side Nurnberg.
He only made a couple of appearances though, and other than that, has been entirely limited to academy football in his career so far.
Therefore, joining West Brom will see him take his first real steps into senior football, but the attacker does have a promising goal record in Palace’s youth system.
So, it’s unclear just how big of a role Ramsay has planned for Mustapha for the rest of the way, but it is a deal that does have a real boom or bust feel to it.
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