3 players who should follow Will Smallbone to West Brom ft Manchester City defender | OneFootball

FLW lists three players that should follow midfielder Will Smallbone to The Hawthorns this summer.

West Bromwich Albion will be hopeful of a much more positive season unfolding under James Morrison.

The Baggies went on a remarkable turnaround of form under the Albion icon to preserve their Championship status last season, securing a 21st place finish despite wretched runs of form under predecessors Ryan Mason and Eric Ramsay, as well as being deducted two points for controversially breaching the EFL’s P&S rules.

But now with all that behind them, Albion’s focus will be on getting themselves back into the promotion mix and targeting a return to the Premier League, with ownership group Bilkul able to spend a bit more freely now that the worst of their financial restrictions has passed over.

And such flexibility in the transfer window has already been on show, with the Black Country outfit bringing seven new faces to The Hawthorns so far this summer, which include Nolan Galves, Conor Townsend, Carter Pinnington, Felix Horn Myhre, Rabby Nzingoula, Barney Stewart and Jimmy-Jay Morgan.

The Baggies have also been linked with adding an eighth player to their ranks in midfielder Will Smallbone, with the former Southampton player targeted as a replacement for Alex Mowatt, who has departed The Hawthorns to move to fellow Championship side Derby County.

So with the Baggies setting their sights on being busy towards the closing stages of the summer transfer window, FLW has identified three other players that West Brom should look to sign before the 1st September deadline.

Alex Palmer

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Starting off, West Brom will surely be hunting for another man in between the sticks to build a competitive goalkeeping department under James Morrison.

While Albion did manage to tie down Max O’Leary to a new three-year contract and sign free agent Matt Ingram, the Baggies did sanction the sale of academy graduate Josh Griffiths to Stoke City, so a third shot-stopper needs to be added for further competition and in the event of an injury crisis.

And one man who could be available for a move is former Baggies number one Alex Palmer, who appears surplus to requirements at Ipswich Town.

Originally moving from The Hawthorns to Portman Road, Palmer was the number one choice at Ipswich through the remainder of their 2024-25 Premier League campaign, while he retained the jersey as they returned to the Championship under Kieran McKenna.

But after featuring in their opening 10 league second tier games of last season, Palmer suffered an unfortunate calf issue against Charlton Athletic and then failed to play another game during their promotion-winning campaign after losing his place to Christian Walton.

Now back in the top-flight and under the new guidance of Gary O’Neil, Ipswich have stocked up their goalkeeping department even further, signing both Kayne van Oevelen and Kjell Scherpen this summer.

This will undoubtedly push Palmer even further down the pecking order, and it appears a no-brainer of a deal for Albion to get done.

Throughout his time with the Baggies, Palmer established himself as one of the top goalkeepers in the Championship, and he’s a dependable and established player in between the sticks that Albion need to get back into the promotion hunt.

West Brom may be worried by the emerging interest from Premier League outfit Sunderland, who are seeking a replacement for Anthony Patterson following his £10m departure to Wrexham, but it’s certainly a signing that would create huge jubilation for the Albion fanbase and one they should be banging at Ipswich’s door to try and complete.

Issa Kabore

Moving into the defence and right-back is an area where West Brom could do with more depth.

Nolan Galves is their only natural option in that position, which isn’t ideal given the Frenchman has not long joined the club and needs time to settle into Championship life.

Therefore, moving for someone like Issa Kabore, who got a taste for second tier football last season at Wrexham, could be the ideal move to make.

In his debut season at Championship level, the Burkina Faso defender featured 30 times in North Wales and registered eight assists - part of a Wrexham side that narrowly missed out on the play-offs.

Returning to Manchester City, Kabore is unlikely to get a look-in at playing regular first-team football under Enzo Maresca, so another move away from the Etihad Stadium could be on the cards heading into the final few weeks of the window, and Albion should be putting themselves at the front of the queue.

Judging from his eight assists last term, Kabore is clearly a player who thrives on marauding forward from right-back, working his way into advanced positions and supplying quality to the forward line to create goals, something that was seen during Danny Imray’s time under Morrison last season at The Hawthorns.

Kabore is someone who would slot into Morrison’s way of playing with ease, and after getting such vital Championship experience, could well improve on the impressive tally of assists he notched up last term.

Cameron Archer

If Will Smallbone signed on the dotted line for West Brom, could that convince Cameron Archer to follow his former Saints team mate to The Hawthorns?

It’s been widely reported about Albion’s interest in Archer, but any progress on a deal seems to have stalled.

It will be intriguing to see whether the Baggies can reignite a move, as bolstering the forward line with someone of Archer’s ilk could be exactly what Albion need to have enough ammunition at the top end of the pitch.

At 24, there’s no doubt Archer is still an exciting forward with lots of potential, and his previous Championship goalscoring exploits, mainly at Middlesbrough, show that he has that level in his locker.

And moving to The Hawthorns could well be the perfect place to unlock it, with Albion desperately needing a reliable goalscorer, while there would be plenty more opportunities to play given boss James Morrison prefers to play a two-striker setup.

If Archer did make a move back to the Midlands, then you would expect him to get back to being a potent force at Championship level, and it could well be a signing that propels Albion back into the promotion conversation.