Crystal Palace ace & Tammer Bany sale can give West Brom the dream start to January | OneFootball

FLW details how West Brom can have a dream start to the January transfer window.

West Brom will be hopeful of competing for promotion back to the Premier League and ending a five-year exodus from the top flight, but they may require a big January transfer window for that to happen.

The closest the Baggies have come to returning to the big time was back in the 2023-24 season under Carlos Corberan, where the Black Country outfit were defeated in the semi-final of the play-offs by eventual winners Southampton.

Since then, Albion fell short in their quest for the top six after the Spaniard departed The Hawthorns at Christmas, with the playing squad failing to knit any momentum together when Tony Mowbray returned for a second stint at The Hawthorns.

During the early period of the 2025-26 term, Baggies supporters have been frustrated to say the least, but Albion are far from out of staking a claim for a promotion push this campaign, and the January transfer window could be a defining period for this aim to bear fruit.

At the turn of the new year, a lot of surprising deals can unfold when players have a final opportunity to secure game time for the remainder of the season, and Albion should be a club looking to be busy if they want to cement themselves towards the upper end of the second-tier table.

In order to get players to integrate as quickly as possible ahead of a sharp turnaround of fixtures, West Brom should be conducting business pretty quickly to show a statement of intent.

With this in mind, Football League World has listed two players the Baggies must consider buying and selling in order to have the perfect start to the January transfer window.

IN: Romain Esse

One area of the pitch West Brom desperately need to strengthen is the right-wing, with the Baggies firmly feeling the loss of academy product Tom Fellows.

In an attempt to fill the gap, Albion recruited Aston Villa’s Samuel Iling-Junior on loan, but the wideman has yet to prove that he has what it takes to fill the huge void that Fellows left.

Because of this, fresh competition and quality is needed, and Crystal Palace’s Romain Esse could be an ideal target as he struggles to make an impact at Selhurst Park.

Almost a year on from his £12m move from Millwall, the 20-year-old is yet to find his feet in the Premier League, making a handful of top flight appearances and receiving criticism from boss Oliver Glasner back in September for not getting the basics right in a Carabao Cup penalty shootout victory over the Lions.

With his future appearing to be in serious doubt heading into January, it’s a loan deal the Baggies should be eyeing up.

Of course, given his talents on show at the Den, there will be a queue of Championship clubs lining up to get him onto their books, so Albion will have to be swift and ensure he chooses The Hawthorns as his next destination.

Esse needs an environment to get back to his best after a difficult patch with the Eagles, and did most of his damage at the Den off the right flank, although he can feature on the opposite flank or as an attacking midfielder to suit different opposition.

His tricky nature and versatility are two qualities that he could bring to this Albion side, and the Baggies should be going all out to add some more dynamism in the final third to transform their fortunes.

OUT: Tammer Bany

One player who could end up departing The Hawthorns at the turn of the year is attacking midfielder Tammer Bany, who has found game time very hard to come by in the blue and white stripes since his £3.3m move from Randers.

The Jordan international has been hampered by multiple injury problems during his short stint in the Black Country, resulting in him making just a handful of appearances in the Championship and being unable to showcase his talents, which led to Albion recruiting him in the first place.

Bany does appear to be a player who is eager to get on the ball, possesses some trickery and wants to make an impact as an attacking player, and it was particularly on show last season when he had a 25-minute stint off the bench at Bristol City.

But for some reason, current boss Ryan Mason is reluctant to let him shine on the pitch, with Isaac Price the first choice in the number 10 position, while Josh Maja has also been introduced to play behind the frontman at points during the second-tier term so far.

With competition competitive in that department, it may be worth loaning out Bany if he continues to sit on the bench, with the attacking midfielder needing regular minutes to keep his career on an upwards trajectory at such a critical stage of his career.