West Brom told to move for player who has “lost his way” at Southampton | OneFootball

Cameron Archer has been linked with a move to the Baggies ahead of pre-season

West Bromwich Albion will be hoping for a much more enjoyable 2026/27 season under the long-term management of James Morrison, after a chaotic 2025/26 term which could have ended in disastrous fashion.

The Baggies' past two seasons have seen plenty of players and managers come and go at The Hawthorns, which was kickstarted by the loss of Carlos Corberan to Valencia in December 2024, months after the club reached the Championship play-offs for the first time since their most recent relegation from the Premier League in 2020/21.

All of Tony Mowbray, Ryan Mason and Eric Ramsay had been in permanent charge of the Black Country outfit between then and the second time Morrison was named as interim head coach in February, with the cult hero having the simple task of preserving Albion's status in the second tier after a dismal run of form.

And now it is fair to say that there is a renewed sense of hope and optimism in B71 ahead of pre-season, with the 40-year-old handed the permanent managerial vacancy on a two-year contract.

After ensuring survival against the drop into League One despite a controversial two-point deduction - largely through a 10-game unbeaten streak - the Baggies have certainly been one of the busiest sides in the early days of the summer transfer window.

Indeed, they have already added further firepower with the forward additions of Barney Stewart and Jimmy-Jay Morgan, whilst the highly-rated defender, Carter Pinnington, has also signed from Liverpool.

However, as per a recent update from journalist, Steve Tudgay, Albion are reportedly in the queue to sign Southampton striker, Cameron Archer, which is a deal Football League World's West Brom fan pundit, Callum Burgess, can get behind.

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Despite Southampton's eventually controversial run to the Championship play-off semi-finals, it was a difficult season for the 24-year-old forward, who was signed for £15m on a four-year contract from Aston Villa two summers ago after the club were promoted to the Premier League under Russell Martin.

However, Archer is still a player with respectable levels of credibility when it comes to finding the back of the net at Championship level, having scored 18 times in just 43 appearances combined for Preston North End and Middlesbrough throughout two loan spells in the second periods of the 2021/22 and 2022/23 seasons.

With Albion already having Aune Heggebo on their books, as well as the newly-recruited Stewart and Morgan, it remains to be seen how Archer could fit in to Morrison's thinking.

But, reacting to the news, Burgess told FLW: "I definitely think Archer would be a useful signing in the sense that he'd be a different profile of striker to the ones we have just signed.

"We'd have Heggebo, Stewart, Morgan and then, with Archer, you'd be looking at a pure 'poacher' role, where he's got that knack of being in the right place at the right time which he showed at Middlesbrough," he explained.

"He seems to have lost his way a bit at Southampton, and I thought it was a strange move at the time, thinking he'd thrive in a team which dominates possession and creates chances, which they didn't exactly do in the Premier League.

"He appeared to be back-up to Ross Stewart, but I see his merits looking to make their way up the Championship.

"If you do make chances for him, more often than not, he should be able to find the back of the net."

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Southampton, of course, are bracing themselves for the potential departures of key names in the wake of the Spygate scandal which took away their chance of competing for an immediate return to the Premier League.

They had previously sold 11-goal man Adam Armstrong to Wolves in January, leaving the likes of Cyle Larin - who has signed permanently whilst impressing for Canada at the World Cup - Stewart and Archer as senior attacking options.

However, despite his injury misfortune at St Mary's, the Scottish forward was one of those released by Tonda Eckert amid the publication of the club's retained list.

As such, unless Saints are able to add further strength-in-depth to their attack, they could make a costly mistake if Archer was to leave for a divisional rival despite previous exit talk in January.