Jimmy-Jay Morgan reacts to West Brom player exit | OneFootball

West Brom forward Jimmy-Jay Morgan took to social media to react to defender Alfie Gilchrist's loan move to Leyton Orient.

West Bromwich Albion forward Jimmy-Jay Morgan has taken to social media to share his reaction to teammate Alfie Gilchrist's loan move to Leyton Orient.

After West Brom narrowly avoided relegation from the Championship last season, it has been a summer of rebuilding at The Hawthorns under new permanent head coach James Morrison, who led the club to safety during his interim spell.

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As they look to build on last season's survival, it has been a busy summer for West Brom with seven new signings arriving in the Midlands so far.

After the additions of Matt Ingram, Nolan Galves, Conor Townsend, Felix Horn Myhre, Jimmy-Jay Morgan and Barney Stewart, Rabby Nzingoula became the latest new face to check in at The Hawthorns as he completed his move from French side Strasbourg on Tuesday.

There have also been a number of departures at Albion this summer as Morrison reshapes his squad, with high-profile names including Joe Wildsmith, Josh Griffiths, Jed Wallace, Karlan Grant, Josh Maja and Daryl Dike all moving on.

League One side Leyton Orient.

Jimmy-Jay Morgan reacts as Alfie Gilchrist swaps West Brom for Leyton Orient

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Gilchrist joined West Brom from Chelsea on a four-year contract last summer, and having been part of the Sheffield United squad that reached the Championship play-off final the previous season, he looked to be an exciting signing for Albion.

However, it proved to be a frustrating debut season at The Hawthorns for Gilchrist, and after being largely overlooked by both Ryan Mason and Eric Ramsay, he also found himself out of favour after Morrison took over on an interim basis in February.

Indeed, Gilchrist made just two appearances during Morrison's 12 games as caretaker, remaining as an unused substitute in the other matches, and after being deemed surplus to requirements, he will now spend the season with Leyton Orient in the third tier.

Gilchrist becomes the latest eye-catching addition of what has been a busy summer for the O's, following the likes of Nathan Baxter, Isaac Hayden, Armando Dobra and Jaze Kabia to Brisbane Road, and manager Richie Wellens predicted he will be "a really good signing" for the East London outfit.

Among those to react to Gilchrist's exit was one of West Brom's new signings, Jimmy-Jay Morgan, who scored a brace on his debut for the club in Saturday's 4-1 Carabao Cup victory at Rotherham United following his move from Chelsea for a fee in the region of £4 million.

Morgan and Gilchrist were teammates in the Chelsea academy before linking up again at Albion, and the forward wished the defender well at Orient, writing on his Instagram story: "Go smash it brother," accompanied by a heart and starry eyes emoji.

Alfie Gilchrist will be keen to prove a point to West Brom at Leyton Orient

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Gilchrist was a highly-rated prospect after making his breakthrough at Chelsea, notably scoring for the Premier League giants in a 6-0 win over Everton in April 2024, while he also impressed during his loan at Sheffield United in the Championship.

However, it has not worked out for Gilchrist at West Brom so far, with Mason, Ramsay and Morrison all opting against giving him more game time despite Albion's struggles last season, so it is little surprise to see him make a temporary exit from The Hawthorns.

At 22 years old, Gilchrist still has plenty of time to get his career back on track, and he will be determined to show his parent club what he is capable of during his spell at Leyton Orient, who could be one of the dark horses in League One this season after a strong summer transfer window.