West Bromwich Albion fans would have been anticipating that their team would be participating in the drama of the Championship playoffs, but their team’s 2024/25 campaign didn’t quite go as smoothly as they would have hoped.
In the end, the Baggies would finish four points shy of Bristol City in that final playoff position, with Tony Mowbray actually facing the wrath of the Hawthorns hierarchy by losing his job for not steering the West Midlands side into the long-sought-after top six.
Alongside talk of a new manager coming in to replace the axed Mowbray, there are now murmurs of fresh faces entering the building to boost matters on the pitch, with the rumour mill churning out new potential bosses and players aplenty.
West Brom could sign Premier League youngster
With Albion in need of a new manager, the likes of Marti Cifuentes and Ryan Mason are now being linked to the Baggies vacancy, with Portsmouth manager John Mousinho also reportedly on the West Brom radar after successfully guiding Pompey away from Championship relegation danger.
Moreover, a slightly more left-field shout comes in the form of ex-Manchester United coach Eric Ramsay.
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But, earlier talk suggesting that Tottenham Hotspur coach Mason could be handed the reins hasn’t died down completely, with the 33-year-old perhaps linking up with a Spurs youngster along the way if he does take on the second-tier job post.
Indeed, a report from Birmingham Live has stated that West Brom have lodged an enquiry over the loan signature of 20-year-old Jamie Donley, off the back of the exciting attacker starring on loan in League One this season with Leyton Orient.
Whilst the jump up is significant from League One to the EFL’s elite division, there will be a hope that Orient number 17 can dazzle defences moving up a league in a similar vein to standout Baggies ace Tom Fellows, with the pair constantly want to create openings to put their team on the front foot.
How Donley could be Fellows 2.0
The homegrown Baggies product will know all too well how formative a loan switch can be down to the lower reaches of the EFL, having once donned Crawley Town colours for a singular season.
This campaign so far for Richie Wellens’ promotion chasers, Donley has amassed a mightily impressive eight goals and ten assists from 47 overall contests, with Fellows amazingly finishing his sterling individual 2024/25 season on 18 goal contributions too.
Games played
40
45
Goals scored
8
4
Assists
10
14
Touches*
45.9
27.2
Shots*
1.4
1.0
Accurate passes*
20.5 (70%)
12.5 (87%)
Big chances missed
4
7
Big chances created
17
13
Looking at their numbers in the EFL this term, both the 20-year-old and his Baggies counterpart have been massively influential for their sides this season in attacking areas, with a mammoth 30 big chances accumulated between them, indicating that they certainly love creating for others.
Hailed for his “sensational” form in the third-tier by scout Jacek Kulig, there is no doubt that the Spurs starlet will be able to take to the pressures of the Championship swimmingly.
After all, Fellows never looked frozen by fear when he was first given chances here and there in the senior mix at West Brom.
Therefore, if a loan switch does occur, those at the Hawthorns will pray Donley can also jump up to the standard required of him, with the promising number ten perhaps linking up with the entertaining 22-year-old winger very soon as his new employers hunt promotion once more.
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1 ByDominic LundMay 6, 2025