Will West Brom re-sign Danny Imray from Crystal Palace? | OneFootball

FLW looks at whether Danny Imray will return to The Hawthorns next season.

West Brom have moved quickly at the start of the summer transfer window.

The Baggies kicked off their spending under James Morrison with the addition of forward Barney Stewart from Falkirk, then announcing the arrival of Liverpool defender Carter Pinnington, although the former Reds man will originally be placed into Albion’s U21’s setup for development.

The Baggies’ third and latest signing is of exciting Chelsea youngster Jimmy-Jay Morgan.

The England U20 international, like Stewart, has penned a four-year contract at The Hawthorns, with Albion spending an up-front fee of £1.3m, with add-ons taking it to as high as £4m.

It’ll be a surprise for Baggies fans to see the club starting the transfer window in such proactive fashion, with Morrison clearly keen on getting fresh faces into the building as early as possible, so they can have a full pre-season and shoot out the traps from matchday one.

Of course, despite three quick signings, the work is far from done for this Albion squad, with many more players needed to bolster each department and ensure the club has a strong chance of finishing towards the top end of the Championship table.

One signing that would create unbridled joy around The Hawthorns was if loanee Danny Imray made a permanent return.

The Crystal Palace loanee was a shining light at right-back under Morrison and crucial to Albion going on a 10-game unbeaten streak, which ultimately kept the Black Country outfit in the second tier.

After being unleashed from the shackles of Eric Ramsay, ‘Mozza’s’ 4-4-2 system allowed Imray to maraud forward down the right-hand side and act like a second winger, with the front-footed full-back notching one goal and two assists from 16 league appearances, with Man of the Match displays against Hull City and Watford.

Mixing such impressive attacking displays with his dogged defensive duties, it’s clear to see why Albion fans want Imray to remain on the club’s books, and if a signing can get over the line, then there would be massive optimism about how the 2026-27 term plays out.

Here at FLW, we assess Imray’s current situation at Crystal Palace and how likely it looks that Albion could agree a permanent stay for the 22-year-old.

Danny Imray’s situation at Crystal Palace and West Brom approach

After a rapid rise through the ranks and now being a major success story in the Championship, you wouldn’t begrudge Danny Imray for thinking he could all the way and settle into Premier League life immediately.

But on returning to Selhurst Park, Imray would likely find himself down the pecking order behind Daniel Munoz, who has established himself as one of the Premier League’s top performing attacking right-backs.

Any opportunity for regular playing time would only come if Munoz departed Palace, but Imray may be keen to have at least an opportunity to impress in pre-season, particularly now the Eagles have a new boss in Pierre Sage.

In terms of his contract situation, a report from the Express & Star explained that while the perception was that Imray’s contract ran out at Crystal Palace this summer, he is actually contracted at Selhurst Park until the following summer, meaning Albion would have to stump up some cash to secure the 22-year-old’s signature.

Meanwhile, The Telegraph’s John Percy reported at the end of last season that one of Albion’s top targets was to bring Imray back to The Hawthorns, but any deal would be delayed until Palace appointed a new manager.

But that has since happened, so there is the potential for inroads to be made over the coming weeks, with Imray seen as a valuable player to the Baggies after performing so well under the interim run of Morrison.

Action images

While Danny Imray may hold some hope that he’ll be able to break into the Crystal Palace first-team next season, his success at West Brom was ultimately a bitesize period of time, and Palace may well feel that Imray will have to prove himself over a 46-game Championship season before being deemed good enough to represent them in the Premier League.

But Imray doesn’t have that time given he has just 12 months remaining on his contract, so he has a decision to make about whether he wants to likely warm the bench in the top-flight, or drop back down to the Championship with West Brom and be a starter week in, week out.

Now, the decision to that question will lie in Imray's own head, but it would make so much sense to return to the Black Country, where he is adored by the supporters and played some of the best football of his early career, with Morrison allowing him to roam free and showcase the attacking side of his game that he’s renowned for.

From Albion’s point of view, they will have a lot more wriggle room during this summer transfer window after navigating the worst of their P&S troubles, with that already on show from their purchases of Barney Stewart and Jimmy-Jay Morgan.

And with Imray having just a year left on his Crystal Palace contract, you feel it wouldn’t take too much money to prize him away from South East London, with this deal seemingly working out for all parties.

The only issue the Baggies will have is other interest from the Championship, with Imray’s heroics bound to be noticed.

Right now, there’s uncertainty over where Albion will finish at the end of the 2026-27 season, and if Imray receives an offer from another side that should be situated towards the top end of the table, then he would be inclined to go elsewhere rather than back to the Baggies.

So early into the transfer window, it’s difficult to tell how this saga will end, but from all the points discussed, you do feel Albion still have a strong chance of landing their preferred right-back target.

To return as a fan favourite and have assurances over starts every week would be a favourable move for him to make, while he played a big role in Jimmy-Jay Morgan making his move to The Hawthorns, so his impact has continued despite departing the club.

Imray’s permanent arrival could be paramount in West Brom giving themselves a chance of returning to the Premier League next season, so by hook or by crook, they must get this signing over the line.