By Joseph Chapman
Today marks the first day of the new season – and, with it, the official end of the contracts of those who have now left West Bromwich Albion.
The Baggies released their retained list at the end of the season, and soon we will learn of the decisions made by a host of young players who were offered deals to remain at the club, including Akeel Higgins, Eseosa Sule and Layton Love.
Other players, it was confirmed, would be leaving – both first-teamers and academy products who had hoped to make it in the senior squad one day, but whose footballing journey will now take them elsewhere.
Albion announced that Semi Ajayi would be leaving the club after six years at The Hawthorns. The centre half, who was stricken regrettably by injuries last season, has since joined Championship rivals Hull City, who are also under new management.
Fellow senior pair Grady Diangana and John Swift – the former has been linked with a move abroad to Spain and also the Saudi Pro League, while the latter has been of interest reportedly to Championship rivals Stoke City and Derby County – have also departed, although both at the time of writing remain unattached.
Three loanees Albion borrowed over the course of the season are also back with their parent clubs; it’s not out of the realms of possibility that young Will Lankshear returns to the club, especially with former Tottenham coach Ryan Mason now in situ at The Hawthorns, but we won’t be seeing Mason Holgate or Adam Armstrong coming back.
While a number of academy products have been offered extended stays at the club, other youngsters as mentioned have left; at the top of that list include Reece Hall, Fenton Heard and Josh Shaw, along with Matt Richards, Ronnie Hollingshead, Archie Kirton, Sam Beedie, Fran Cherchi, Rhys Morrish and Corey Sears.
A couple more prominent names have since found new clubs; goalkeeper Ted Cann played the role of third choice goalkeeper for a number of years but he has now joined League One Rotherham United in order to try and get his career up and running, while striker ReyesCleary has decided to also leave and head to Yorkshire, joining Barnsley – Albion have a substantial sell-on clause in the event he becomes a hit at Oakwell.
Attentions now begin to turn to incomings, certainly more intensely than was already the case; Albion have begun their business by capturing Nat Phillips for around 拢1m up front from Liverpool, after his exploits on loan at Derby last season, but Mason, Andrew Nestor and Ian Pearce are far from done.
There was a message of caution from chairman Shilen Patel in his recent open letter to the fans, however; Albion are still feeling the effects of the mismanagement of the previous regime, and Bilkul are still having to undo the financial mess which they inherited.
“The realities of P&S aren鈥檛 going away just yet, and its existence will necessarily govern our approach to the summer,” Patel wrote. “Our three-year P&S rolling average calculation will no longer include the slight profit of 22/23, leaving us with a challenge similar in magnitude to last year鈥檚.
“Every summer will require us to be prepared for the departure of players and the recruitment of well-vetted talents to succeed them; this summer, we will once again have to be pragmatic, adaptable, and resourceful and consider factors beyond our simple preferences in player trading.”
Simply, Albion will have to continue to be prudent and efficient in the transfer windows, meaning that if offers come for their key players, they must consider all aspects. Clearly, Albion are on a much better footing under Bilkul but it remains work very much in progress over an extensive period of time.
A player who it’s understood won’t be joining the club is David Brooks. The playmaker was linked online with a move to The Hawthorns, an international player of Premier League quality and with plenty of previous Championship experience, but suggestions that a deal was close – or even on the table at all – are wide of the mark.
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