West Brom have signed 'one of the best' in Jimmy-Jay Morgan - Ex-coach says why

West Bromwich Albion have already been told exactly what they're getting with the signing of Jimmy-Jay Morgan.

Signed for an initial fee understood to be £1.3million from Chelsea, Morgan adds another young and hungry forward to James Morrison's new-look West Brom attack.

With Barney Stewart also arriving from Falkirk, Albion appear to be embracing the future and putting faith in young talent at the top end of the pitch moving forward.

Morgan, 20, joined Chelsea's academy aged eight, before moving to Southampton three years later, only to return to Stamford Bridge in February 2023.

A versatile forward who can operate either as an attacking midfielder or in a centre-forward role, Morgan netted 14 times in all competitions whilst on loan with Peterborough United last season.

So, having proven himself to be a quality player at League One level, he now looks ready to show that he can get the better of Championship defenders in 2026-27.

West Brom told they're signing deadly finisher in Jimmy-Jay Morgan

An England youth international, you don't represent the Three Lions at any level nor come through the fabled youth systems of Southampton and Chelsea if you don't have something special about you.

Whether it be at St Mary's or Stamford Bridge, Morgan's talent and potential has long been talked up, but particularly with the latter, first-team opportunities can be very tough to come by.

Leaving a big club like Chelsea will be tough for Morgan to take, but at the same time, he will no doubt be itching to show those in SW6 that they've made a huge mistake letting him go.

West Brom will certainly hope that is the case, and judging by what Morgan's old Southampton academy coach has said about him in the past, Baggies fans can expect him to be a success story.

Speaking via Hampshire Live back in November 2022, then-Saints academy coach Louis Carey made an eye-catching claim on Morgan's finishing ability.

Morgan had scored a hat-trick for Southampton's B team against Birmingham City in a Premier League Cup win, leading Carey to wax lyrical over the then-16-year-old.

“I know Jimmy gets the headlines and the match ball, he can finish and the range of finishes is at the level we probably haven’t seen coming through the system for many years," Carey said.

"You need someone like Jimmy to finish, and as I said I think he’s one of the best I’ve seen in my time here.”

Morgan's Peterborough stats back Carey's claim up

It's one thing for a coach to talk about a player's ability in a certain field, but at times, it can just be a method to extract more confidence and better performances out of an individual.

In the case of Carey and what he said of Morgan's finishing, however, neither of those are true.

Morgan showed why whilst on loan in League One last season, with his 12 goals ranking him in the top 1.8 percentile of all attacking midfielders in that division in 2025-26, as per FotMob.

Meanwhile, his 18 shots on target placed him in the top 16 per cent of his positional rivals, with every single one of his 12 goals coming from inside the 18-yard box.

So long as he fits into Morrison's system, Morgan could turn out to be one of West Brom's shrewdest transfer investments in some time.