Stats show why Brodie Spencer didn't deserve relegation as West Brom plot move

West Bromwich Albion could find a gem in Oxford United's Brodie Spencer.

No less than six new faces have arrived at The Hawthorns so far this summer, and West Brom's recruitment drive isn't slowing down.

James Morrison is expected to continue extracting significant improvement out of his Albion side in 2026-27, and with their pre-season form so far, they may even be dark horses for a play-off place.

Albion have put resources into upgrading in defence, with Carter Pinnington, Conor Townsend and Nolan Galves all signing, with the latter being a right wing-back/right-back.

Spencer, whose name has started to crop up in West Brom transfer circles this week, is also a right-back by trade, but can operate across the entire defensive line if needed.

His Oxford United side suffered relegation to League One last season, but the 22-year-old proved why he fully deserves to keep plying his trade in the Championship.

Why Brodie Spencer was amongst Championship's best right-backs in 2025-26

West Brom News has been following reports linking West Brom and Queens Park Rangers to Spencer.

Given his young profile, he would fit the recruitment philosophy Albion are evidently going for in terms of signing younger players with high potential, who they can hopefully turn big profits on down the line.

And, judging by his underlying numbers with Oxford last season, the 23-cap Northern Ireland international could certainly be one of those.

As per FotMob, and despite playing only 29 times in the Championship last term, Spencer's 81 tackles won ranked him in the top 6.8 percentile of all right-backs in the division.

Meanwhile, his 170 duels won and 55 aerial duels won placed him amongst the leading 13.7 and 14.5 percentiles, as well as winning 25 fouls.

Spencer also ranked alongside the top-performing Championship right-backs in 2025-26 for his 205 defensive contributions, 32 interceptions, 11 blocked shots, 81 clearances and 108 recoveries.

So, Spencer has shown that he can put up numbers of a top Championship right-back in a relegated side, which offers huge encouragement of the player he could become with Albion.

But what is his contract situation like at Oxford, and does it put the U's in a strong position to hold out for a big fee despite their relegation to League One?

Why Spencer's contract situation is far from clear

It's common for clubs to disclose the length of the contract that a new player his signed when joining completing a transfer.

However, some clubs prefer to keep those details hidden in order to protect their leverage when it comes to potential transfer negotiations.

That's what West Brom will encounter if/when they make a move for Spencer this summer, as the length of his Oxford contract has never been disclosed.

He did only sign for the U's from Huddersfield Town last summer, so it's presumed that he inked a long-term deal at the Kassam Stadium.

But, there's no guarantee that's the case, and that leaves West Brom in a tricky situation as they attempt to understand how much a deal might cost them.