West Brom have clear Hull City path to follow as Serej Jakirovic deal prepared

West Bromwich Albion are looking ahead to what they hope will be a more prosperous 2026-27 season.

Burning through two managers in Ryan Mason and Eric Ramsay, the Baggies were left in disarray as they were dragged into a relegation battle.

Former midfielder James Morrison would take the job in February, handed the immediate task of steering the club to safety.

That he did, with a 10-match unbeaten run seeing his side seal their spot with games to spare - even in spite of a points deduction.

Looking ahead to next term, Hull City have left a clear path for Albion to follow.

Ascending to the Premier League through the playoffs, the Humberside club provided one of the stories of the 2025-26 season, and it is not out of the question to suggest that West Brom could be looking to repeat the feat.

Hull City reveal highlights potential West Brom ambition

In similar circumstances, Hull would survive at the back end of the 2024-25 season under Ruben Selles, who rescued the Tigers after a dismal spell under Tim Walter.

Like the Baggies recently, the Humberside club would end that season in 21st, while a transfer ban severely held them back over the summer of 2025.

Serej Jakirovic would step into the role at the time, while there were naturally no real promotion ambitions given the torrid circumstances.

A year later, both parties are now in talks over a new deal, with Hull a Premier League club for the first time in almost a decade.

Despite being unable to in the transfer market, Hull backed Jakirovic - giving him time to get his ideas across and get the team shifting forward.

With a common sense approach on the pitch, his side would remain in and around the playoff race throughout the season, before eventually winning under the Wembley arch.

For West Brom, a path has been laid to follow, with Hull stunning the rest of the division and earning promotion just a year on from securing their spot in the league.

West Brom can call upon benefits Hull did not have access to

Given their respective league finishes, the similarities are there between the two clubs.

Though, the argument can be made that Albion are in a much better position than the Tigers were 12 months ago.

The Baggies are not exactly in the most ideal of financial scenarios, but they do at least have the benefit of adding to the squad this summer - something Hull themselves were not able to do outside of Oli McBurnie's free transfer.

Alongside this, Morrison benefits from the time already spent with the group, allowing him to assess and make decisions on what is needed over the summer.

Like Jakirovic, the former midfielder impressed with a back-to-basics approach - getting the best out of most within the ranks in the process.

After spending time with the group at the back end of the season, it could be a case where the only way is up for Morrison.

And while it is far from the expectation, Hull have set a path that the Baggies will be looking to emulate next term - allowing fans to maybe, just maybe, begin dreaming of a more prosperous future.