"Great chance" - Pundit issues exciting West Brom prediction | OneFootball

Sam Parkin has been left impressed by Albion's start to the season and their summer business

EFL pundit and ex-footballer Sam Parkin believes that West Bromwich Albion have a great chance of achieving promotion this season after also being impressed by the club's transfer activity.

Carlos Corberan's side have become one of the most dominant teams in the Championship ever since the Spaniard was appointed in October 2022, with Albion continuously finding a way to progress despite numerous periods of uncertainty throughout the aforementioned timeframe.

However, it would be fair to say that there hasn't been this much positivity surrounding the Baggies for a lengthy period of time, particularly with it being Shilen Patel's first full season as the latest custodian in The Hawthorns' boardroom, with the club aiming to end their Premier League exile in the not-too-distant future.

And, to live up to such dreams, West Brom have put last campaign's play-off disappointment behind them and started the season in fine fettle, despite Corberan overseeing plenty of player turnover throughout the summer transfer window.

Sam Parkin issues West Bromwich Albion prediction and transfer assessment

Speaking on the latest edition of the 'What The EFL?! Podcast' alongside Adrian Clarke and Matt Davies-Adams, Parkin delivered his assessment of the Baggies' potential fortunes for the coming months, as well as issuing his opinions on the transfer activity in B71.

"I think, first and foremost, I'm probably putting the start to the season they're having into context with that resounding win over Swansea," he began.

"I think Heggem, who's come in defensively for them in the early weeks of the season, has done really well. And then I think Mikey Johnston - one of the standout performers in the Championship last season - to get him back and bolster all the departments that needed improving last season. I think they've gone and done that."

"I say that, but the one little concern I've got is that Daryl Dike is still out," Parkin stated. "Josh Maja has obviously started brilliantly, and we've not really seen Devante Cole as of yet."

"I thought, given his return at Barnsley in the last couple of seasons, that was a great bit of business on a free transfer, so I'm just waiting to see what the script is there. Whether he's getting up to speed or the tactics of Carlos Corberan."

"There's a few unknowns that have come in as well. Diakite, Holgate's not had a great few years, Rakic - the defensive midfielder. Dobbin's another player I like, who can play an array of positions across the front line," the pundit added.

"I just think, combined with the start to the season they've had, now having that additional depth that Carlos Corberan hasn't been able to call upon in the last year, because he's been managing with one arm tied behind his back to a degree with the off-field issues. Now, with a strong squad, players for different positions and his tactical nous and his qualities, they've got a great chance (of promotion)," Parkin concluded.

It was first revealed by Patel in June that Albion had to be "resourceful, process-driven and open-minded" in the transfer market to give Corberan's side the best possible chance of eventually realising their ambitions, but without putting the financial situation of the club at risk once more.

And that process has to be commended, as despite losing a number of key performers and long-serving players such as Cedric Kipre, Matt Phillips, Okay Yokuslu and Brandon Thomas-Asante among others across the summer, such funds have been reinvested meticulously, with the one standout addition in terms of cost and quality coming in the form of Johnston, who re-signed from Celtic for a reported £3m.

Corberan is regarded as one of the best managers in the division, having managed to win 40 of his 80 matches in charge in B71 so far, averaging 1.71 points per game which, as Parkin alluded to, included a lengthy period of uncertainty surrounding the club's future.

There is still concerns that perhaps West Brom are a little light in some areas on a short-term basis, namely upfront amid Maja's flying start to the season, but with Dike expected to return at the end of the year, if Albion are jostling for a top-two spot, then optimism in this part of the West Midlands will only increase tenfold once more