Louis Bent – The Baggies Podcast
Main Player
With last season’s star men Matheus Pereira and Sam Johnstone expected to
leave the club this summer (although either would be the star player if they
were to stay) , Albion need to look for other sources of inspiration to give them
a boost this season. Karlan Grant might just be that, despite the fact he
struggled in the Premier League last season. With 19 Championship goals
playing in a poor Huddersfield side, under new manager Valérien Ismaël he
could flourish.
Rising Star
Dara O’Shea made 28 Premier League appearances last campaign and looked
as assured as you can playing in the worst defensive side in the league. The 22
year-old is likely to be called upon again and will hopefully gain some essential
experience playing in the Championship.
What transfers are needed?
Last seasons midfield was predominantly built up using loanees Conor
Gallagher, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Okay Yokuslu. This exemplified our poor
planning and now means we are in need of serious reinforcements in that
area. Alex Mowatt has signed on a free transfer from Barnsley, but there’s still
work to be done to allow us to compete with the rigorous nature of a
Championship engine room.
Predicted Finish
3rd Just missing out on automatics, and unsure whether we’d make it through
the roulette wheel of the play-offs. However, Ismaël’s appointment spells long-
term, therefore promotion is not a complete necessity this season.
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