West Brom dealt transfer blow by Stoke City - They've landed one of Spurs' most "promising" youngsters | OneFootball

FLW's Baggies fan pundit would've loved to see the Tottenham youngster playing for Ryan Mason next season.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

West Bromwich Albion have lost out on signing Tottenham Hotspur youngster Jamie Donley, who, instead, has joined Stoke City on a season-long loan.

The Baggies were one of the first teams to be linked with the Northern Irish international following his breakout season with Leyton Orient last time out, when he notched eight goals and 10 assists for the League One play-off finalists.

In the end, Stoke convinced the player and his parent club that the bet365 Stadium would be the best place for him to be next season, and it was announced on Wednesday morning that Mark Robins had added the 20-year-old to his 2025/26 squad.

This is the second Spurs loanee that Ryan Mason, the new West Brom boss who moved to The Hawthorns from north London, has missed out on. The Midlands outfit were also interested in signing 17-year-old Mikey Moore, but he was snapped up by Rangers.

West Brom will be disappointed to lose out on Spurs talent to Stoke

Football League World's Albion fan pundit, Callum Burgess, was hoping that Mason could put his Premier League connections to better use this summer, and is disappointed to see what he believes will be a really strong player next season representing one of West Brom's league rivals.

"With the connections between Ryan Mason and Tottenham, obviously spending so much time as a player and as a coach, I was hoping that Albion might have looked to make the most of that, and then try to bring in one of their promising youngsters," Burgess said.

"There was links with Mikey Moore. We had Will Lankshear last season, but personally, Jamie Donley was the pick of them that I was hoping would see in an Albion shirt this year.

"With Tammer Bany being injured, losing [John] Swift and [Grady] Diangana, I think Donley would have been a really good pickup to have as a number 10 in the squad, potentially playing alongside Isaac Price.

"A midfield trio of them two and a defensive midfielder sitting, I think, could have been a really exciting proposition, but it seems like that's not to be and he's going to be spending the season at Stoke City instead.

"I definitely think that Albion need an attacking midfielder like Donley in the squad for the season. So it's a shame to see us miss out on him and I think he'll be a good sign for Stoke City."

Missed Spurs transfer opportunities are big blows to West Brom

Shilen Patel, West Brom's owner and chairman, said in a statement earlier this summer that the club weren't going to be able to spend heavily in this window. That lack of funds makes loan moves, that 99 percent of the time are cheaper than permanent deals, so much more important.

Donley and Moore are two top talents. The former is proven, to an extent, in the EFL, so would've been a more sure-fire option than the 17-year-old, but, had Albion been able to land both, they would have been strong additions to Mason's squad.

With the season fast approaching, and just a few weeks left in the transfer window, the Baggies will have to be ready to move quickly and beat any other interested clubs to their remaining targets. They can't allow too many more transfer options to join potential rivals this summer.