Sunderland, Burnley and Leeds United will surely now avoid West Brom transfer | OneFootball

Interest from the Premier League will cool in Isaac Price given his slump in form for West Brom.

West Brom boss Ryan Mason is under mounting pressure to save his job at The Hawthorns after a desperately poor start to his first season in full-time management.

Mason has really struggled to get his Albion side showing consistency in both results and performances, with the Baggies now languishing in mid-table heading into the festive period.

The ex-Tottenham Hotspur midfielder is proving to be an unpopular figure among the West Brom faithful himself, with supporters often left scratching their heads at the playing style, tactics and in-game management.

Their latest loss at Southampton in midweek made it seven straight away defeats on the spin, while the team have won just four games of their last 16 matches.

It’s grim reading under Mason’s guidance, with many supporters now justified for wanting a change in the dugout.

It’s little surprise to see how Albion’s lack of form correlates with the downwards spiral of attacking midfielder Isaac Price too, who has gone off the boil in recent times after an electric start to the campaign.

The Northern Ireland international had made an immediate impact under Tony Mowbray following his reported £2.5m move from Belgian outfit Standard Liege last January.

His relentless ability in the press, willingness to get on the ball and versatility to play in numerous positions made him a fan favourite, featuring as a number ten, in central midfield, on either wing and also at right-back in his debut campaign.

From this, Price was already being linked with a move to the top-flight, as promoted duo Sunderland and Burnley were reportedly interested in a summer move for the 22-year-old.

Fulham and Leeds United were also in the frame for his signature over the course of the summer, but a drop in performance levels may push those clubs away from making a move at the turn of the year.

Isaac Price’s 2025-26 campaign for West Brom so far

As Ryan Mason entered The Hawthorns' dugout for the first time as a professional manager, the consensus around Isaac Price was that he would be the main man to help the former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder deliver success.

And it began to materialise at the beginning of the campaign, as Price started to notch goals on a regular basis in the blue and white stripes.

Price got his goalscoring tally underway on the opening day of the season when scoring the only goal of the game against Blackburn Rovers, before making It three goals in two games after netting a brace against newly-promoted Wrexham the following week.

After a rocky period of form where some Albion supporters began to doubt his abilities, Price stepped up to net two stunning efforts in back-to-back games against Preston North End and Watford, putting to bed a seven-game drought in front of goal.

But instead of kicking on, Price has again fallen below his usual high expectations. The midfielder has now failed to find the back of the net once again in his last nine Championship outings, while his poor form saw him hooked at half-time against Swansea City and then starting on the bench for their away trip to QPR.

It’s a big worry for West Brom, who need him to step up in order for Albion to climb up the table and get themselves involved in the promotion conversation.

West Brom supporters will be alarmed by the performances of Isaac Price, who looks a shadow of the player that was amongst the goals at the beginning of the campaign.

In recent weeks and months, Price hasn’t been able to dominate on the ball and be a defining player in games, with large parts of matches simply passing him by. Meanwhile, there has been a notable drop-off in his quality on the ball, with many passes being misplaced and just not having the same synergy with his teammates.

Whether the blame for his regression lies at Ryan Mason’s door remains to be seen, but with Albion in such a generally negative place on the pitch at the moment, you can very much argue that the Baggies boss should be getting a lot more out of the general squad that he has at his disposal.

For the Albion hierarchy, it’s a big worry as Premier League clubs will surely cool their interest in Price because of this dip in form. The Northern Ireland international is one of their few saleable assets following the losses of Torbjorn Heggem and Tom Fellows last summer, and the club needs an outlet to boost the coffers should it be required.

A change in regime could be the answer to unlocking Price again, and that could well happen if the results continue under Mason, with the club currently well below where they should be positioned in the Championship.

From Price’s personal point of view, if he wants to realise his top-flight ambitions, he needs to find a way of rediscovering his magic in the Championship. Despite earning a lot of praise throughout his Albion spell so far, this is the first test that he faces in his young career, and it will be telling to see whether he can bounce back from it and show the mentality of a world-class player in the making.

This is a situation that is unhealthy for all parties, with the Baggies needing Price at his best if they are to achieve any success this season.

Because of this, Leeds, Sunderland and Burnley should all steer clear of making a lofty investment in Price for now, with the attacking midfielder needing to show resilience and work his way out of a sticky patch of form.