West Brom push to seal double deal | OneFootball

An update has emerged in Albion's efforts to keep hold of Karlan Grant and Josh Maja.

With the summer transfer window officially open, West Brom will be starting to put plans in place ahead of the 2026-27 campaign under James Morrison.

After the heroics of the former Baggies midfielder to keep Albion in the second tier, he’ll now be hopeful of dragging the Black Country outfit to the right end of the Championship standings, and will be finalising what he wants his squad to look like ahead of pre-season.

And it already appears that Albion are making early inroads, with the Baggies expected to seal the permanent signing of England U20 international forward Jimmy-Jay Morgan from Chelsea for a reported fee of £1.3m, while Liverpool defender Carter Pinnington is also expected to link up at The Hawthorns, although he will originally be placed into their U21's setup.

In terms of contracts, Albion have handed shot-stopper Max O’Leary a new three-year deal following his immediate impact at The Hawthorns since joining in the January transfer window.

West Brom still remain in touch with the likes of Josh Maja and Karlan Grant to extend their current deals, while a report by the Express & Star has detailed how Albion fancy their chances of getting the duo to sign on the dotted line.

West Brom remain ‘hopeful’ of Josh Maja, Karlan Grant stays

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As per a report by the Express & Star that detailed Jimmy Jay-Morgan’s impending arrival to The Hawthorns, it also contained a brief update on the situations of Josh Maja and Karlan Grant, with journalist Matt Maher confirming that Albion remain hopeful of tying the duo down to new deals.

The report read: “The hard work should now pay dividends and allow the club to be more proactive in pursuing targets. Boss James Morrison has remained in close contact with director of football operations Ian Pearce and technical director Dominic Price throughout the summer.

“Goalkeeper Max O’Leary is the only player to agree terms so far after signing a three-year contract, though the Baggies are hopeful of keeping striker Josh Maja and forward Karlan Grant.”

West Brom need contract clarity from Josh Maja and Karlan Grant

It’s a frustrating wait for West Brom fans to find out whether Josh Maja and Karlan Grant will remain Albion players heading into the 2026-27 season, with this saga dragging on and needing to be resolved before the first-team squad returns for pre-season.

With Maja, he has previous history of letting his contract run down to fuel other moves, most recently doing so at Bordeaux, which then led to his switch to Albion in the summer of 2023.

There’s no doubt Maja might be worth keeping hold of given the eye he has for goal when presented with opportunities, but there is some doubts about his pace and general fitness, with the forward not looking the same player since his lower leg injury at the beginning of 2025, which required surgery.

With Grant, there will be some surprise that Albion are looking to keep him on at The Hawthorns, with the former Huddersfield Town man already having a six-year stay in B71 and failing to justify an extension to his terms over that period.

For Grant, he may well feel six years is more than long enough to stay at one club, with other Championship clubs bound to be interested in securing his services, should he become available.

Regardless, Albion need to know where they stand sooner rather than later when it comes to Maja and Grant so then they can fully turn their attentions to building a squad capable of sustaining a promotion push under James Morrison.