"Need to be more careful" - West Brom: Callum Marshall name-checked as transfer advice delivered | OneFootball

We asked our West Brom fan pundit which January transfer flop should not be repeated this month

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 Brom have been told to avoid a repeat of their January 2024 transfer business when striker Callum Marshall was signed on loan from West Ham but barely featured.

The Northern Irish man was brought in on a short-term loan from the Hammers this time last year as Carlos Corberan looked to seal a Championship play-off place, and while the Baggies did finish in the top six, Marshall played a bit-part role.

The 20-year-old striker made just three appearances for West Brom, all from the bench, totalling just 55 minutes, and he was recalled by his parent club in April after struggling to break into the matchday squad.

With the Baggies in a similar position again this time around, West Brom have been urged to avoid making signings for the sake of it, like Marshall's was judged to have been.

We asked our Baggies fan pundit, Callum Burgess, which January signing his club should be looking to avoid a repeat of this month, and he picked Marshall as an example of a signing which didn't work out.

Speaking to Football League World, Callum said: "I think Albion can look back to last January if they want to avoid making some of the mistakes they’ve made in the past.

“We were in a similar place last season where we were in desperate need of a striker, and we had Brandon Thomas-Asante and Jed Wallace sharing the number nine role, while Josh Maja and Daryl Dike were injured.

“We brought Callum Marshall in on loan and I think that was a signing we made just for the sake of it to try and get some bodies in and, unfortunately for Marshall, he wasn’t ready for us at the time, and he made very limited appearances.

“He’s done alright at Huddersfield Town in League One, but I think that shows Albion need to be more careful when making signings from youth academies as they might be performing well at U21 level, but are they ready to make the step-up to senior football?

“If Albion were to get into the transfer market it would be better if we could try and bring players in who have prior experience of the division and show that they can perform to try and eliminate as much risk as possible, because we might bring in someone like Callum Marshall who’s not ready to play at this level.”

January transfer business will be difficult for West Brom with no manager

As it stands, West Brom have been without a permanent manager for over three weeks, and it makes doing January business difficult for a number of reasons.

Players may be reluctant to make the move to The Hawthorns without knowing who the manager is going to be, because they may not fit into a certain style of play, so it will be difficult to attract potential signings until a new boss is appointed.

Of course, the recruitment team and the board can make signings, but they could recruit a completely different sort of player that is wanted or needed by the manager, so it's a big risk.

We're almost halfway through the transfer window, and the managerial hunt is ongoing, so transfer business may just be put on hold for now. Not an ideal situation by any means for a club chasing promotion.