Credit: Manh Tung/Breaking Media

James Barker

Fri 15 May 2026 8:20, UK

West Bromwich Albion have reportedly seen a bid worth over £1million rejected for Falkirk’s Barney Stewart.

Focus at The Hawthorns has now shifted towards the upcoming summer transfer window.

With James Morrison now in place as West Brom’s permanent head coach, he will be hoping to be backed to the best of Albion’s ability over the coming months.

The Baggies’ brush with Championship relegation in 2025-26 was the wake-up call everyone at B71 needed, and should be the catalyst for an improved 2026-27 campaign.

However, if that is to be the case, then West Brom’s summer transfer business is going to have to be shrewd and impactful, and Hawthorns recruitment chiefs aren’t sitting on their hands.

West Brom have seven-figure bid rejected for Barney Stewart

Patel could spend big at West Brom this summer, as they could expose a loophole in the EFL’s inability to sanction them further whilst their two-point deduction punishment for breaching PSR rules is still in cycle.

One big area of need for Albion is the forward line, with scoring goals being a major issue for them last season with only 48 scored in the Championship.

And, according to a report from the Daily Record, they appear to have set their sights on one of Scottish football’s brightest young goalscorers.

It’s claimed that West Brom have seen a seven-figure bid for Falkirk starlet Stewart rejected, with Albion now reportedly having made multiple approaches for the 22-year-old.

The report states the size of the fee is now “well into seven figures”, but that the Baggies’ latest bid still falls comfortably short of the asking price set.

A host of other English and European sides are also said to be closely monitoring Stewart’s situation, and so his signature is clearly a coveted one.

How good has Stewart been for Falkirk this season?

Having signed for Falkirk in October 2024 whilst still playing football at university level at the Edinburgh-based Heriot-Watt University, Stewart’s rise has been rapid.

After turning out 17 times in all competitions for Falkirk in the 2024-25 season, he spent the first half of last season on loan with Scottish Championship side Dunfermline Athletic, where he scored eight times in 12 games.

That saw him recalled to Falkirk in late December 2025, and he would go on to score 10 times and provide two assists in 21 appearances for his parent club over the second half of 2025-26.

Eight of those goals and both of those assists came in just 17 Scottish Premiership outings, which is a superb return and one that has really put him on the map north of the border, as well as across European football.