Who West Brom could beat to sign Nolan Galves as transfer advanced
West Bromwich Albion are looking to add Rodez AF right-back Nolan Galves to their ranks.
The Albion's season is not far from kicking off with Rotherham in the Carabao Cup looming on 8 August.
James Morrison will want to have as many of his potential signings through the door before then.
The Baggies are pushing to turn a shock relegation battle into a promotion push this upcoming season.
Right-back is a position needed at The Hawthorns and when it comes to Galves, there is competition for his signature.
But as talks progress over a move, Galves has two very different paths available to him.
The two options facing Nolan Galves as West Brom push for move
West Brom News have been keeping up with West Brom's search for a right-back signing.
Danny Imray's loan expiring has left Morrison light in that department with the Englishman a name that has been touted to return to solve that issue.
But Galves was not a name that has been mentioned over the last few weeks.
Now, Sky Sports journalist Luca Bendoni has shared that a transfer is advanced for the Frenchman.
Meanwhile, different sources suggest that West Brom have already agreed a deal with Rodez over a transfer for the defender, but so have Southampton.
That is according to Belgian journalist Sacha Tavolieri, who boasts 227,000 followers on X.
The reporter has shared that Galves will now have to decide on his favourite destination between the two Championship sides.
The Baggies will be hoping that they were able to sell their project more effectively ahead of the upcoming season.
The fact that last season's first choice, Imray, is no longer in B71 could play into their hands.
That is because the prospect of more minutes at The Hawthorns could seem to be a plausible advantage.
Southampton have retained defender James Bree, who started 38 games last season for the Saints.
Who is West Brom target Galves?
Having played in France's Ligue 2 last season, Galves is likely to be an unknown figure among the Baggies fanbase.
The 23-year-old is an attacking fullback, and that was clear in his numbers from last season.
In the French second tier, Galves picked up seven assists throughout the season in 2025-2026.
He created 10 big chances and averaged 1.6 key passes per game according to Sofascore.
Galves also tends to utilise crossing quite a lot. Last campaign he averaged 6.43 attempted per game.
Defensively, he is strong too. He won 53 per cent of all his ground duels for Rodez.
This is a priority transfer, and it looks really close now.