Baggies transfer window 'laser-focused'

The old saying tells us that patience is a virtue but, unfortunately, it's something that is often in short supply in football.

There's often very little time or thought given to building something long-term, especially if doing so could come at the expense of immediate success.

However, Albion have bucked that trend this summer.

The Throstles signed nine senior outfield players during the transfer window.

Of those nine, seven were 23 or younger, five were signed from outside the UK, and seven had not played in the Championship before.

Albion's ownership did exactly what they said they would do.

In an open letter to fans on 26 June, chairman Shilen Patel said, "We aim to build a squad of dynamic, hard-working, and well-coached players with an emphasis on talent we believe will grow in their time with us.

"When we look at our most successful recruitment, there are clear commonalities and they have nothing to do with how much we spent to bring the player here."

The Baggies could have approached the window in a similar manner to many of their competitors, paying inflated prices for proven Championship talents.

Wrexham were accused by Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder last week of "blanket bombing", Albion's approach was the antithesis of that, remaining laser-focused and refusing to deviate.

That meant that if the right deal didn't come up, Albion didn't compromise.

This meant that the Baggies didn't fill certain positions in the squad they perhaps would have liked to, but the players that did come in were largely young and exciting.

However, with so much youth and so many players recruited from abroad, there is a need for patience.

Albion started the season superbly with two wins from two.

But, with one point from the past two games, there have been calls for more of the new players to be blooded.

The scintillating early season form of new boy Jimmy-Jay Morgan probably raised expectations that the other new signings could do the same, and Rabby Nzingoula's thrilling second half showing on Wednesday night will have furthered that feeling.

Others, however, may need a softer launch

Kareem Tunde excited at Middlesbrough off the bench but struggled a little in a first start on Wednesday, while Albion's new striker Barney Stewart is clearly being eased into Championship life with just 21 minutes in the league so far.

The Scotland U21 international has enjoyed an incredible rise since leaving university football in 2024, but this is the biggest leap he's made to date, and he will probably need time to adapt

Felix Horn Myhre and Nolan Galves are the two who have been thrown straight into the starting XI, but both inclusions were somewhat enforced.

Galves was the only senior right-back option prior to the deadline day signing of Brayann Pereira, while Myhre was given an opening day start due to the sale of Alex Mowatt 48 hours prior, and then continued due to the subsequent suspension and illness of Aune Heggebo.

You would imagine that Morrison would, ideally, have liked two players new to the division to have had a more gradual introduction to it.

Albion's entire strategy over the summer was to sign players with a view to the future, but the consequence of this is that we are likely to see the best of our new assets in time.

After being the oldest squad in the league a mere three-years ago, Bilkul have done an incredible job of turning Albion into a team awash with young, hungry players in a handful of windows.

I believe that hard work will pay off, but we might have to be a bit patient before we truly reap the benefits.