West Bromwich Albion have made an energetic start to the summer transfer window as they look to strengthen their Championship squad significantly.
Finishing 21st in the Championship during the 2025/26 campaign was unacceptable for the Baggies, leading to the sackings of Ryan Mason and Eric Ramsay.
James Morrison now holds the managerial reins on a full-time basis after steering the club to survival last term, and he has already made moves in the market.
West Brom scored just 48 goals in 46 Championship matches last season, barely exceeding one per game, and failed to score in three of their final six fixtures.
Centre-forward Barney Stewart has arrived on a permanent deal from Falkirk, while attacking midfielder Jimmy-Jay Morgan has joined from Premier League giants Chelsea.
Stewart and Morgan combined for 32 goals across all competitions last season, with Stewart netting 18 for Dunfermline and Falkirk and Morgan scoring 14 on loan at Peterborough United.
However, signing clinical attackers is only half the equation, as the club urgently needs a creative playmaker capable of consistently supplying those forwards with chances.
No player created more big chances than Tom Fellows during his time at The Hawthorns, with the English forward registering 13 big chances created and 14 assists before his £10m move to Southampton in summer 2025.
Fellows topped the Championship assist charts in 2024/25, level with Josh Murphy on 14, and no West Brom player came close to matching that output last season.
That creative void left by Fellows is the central issue Morrison must solve, and Motherwell right winger Elijah Just has emerged as a player attracting serious interest from multiple clubs.
Southampton are reportedly in a race with Celtic and Rangers to secure Just, who represented New Zealand at the World Cup and caught the attention of scouts across Europe.
New Zealand national team boss Darren Bazeley described Just as the “best player in the league” in Scotland, highlighting the impact the left-footed winger made in the Premiership last season.
Just made 35 appearances in the 2025/26 Premiership campaign, scoring seven goals, registering seven assists, creating 11 big chances, and posting an expected goals figure of 6.54.
Notably, no West Brom player managed more than 11 big chances created in the Championship last season, despite playing eight more league games than teams in the Scottish Premiership.
That statistic underlines the level of creative quality Just brings, making him a genuinely compelling option for Morrison as he looks to rebuild the squad’s attacking output.
Just also demonstrated his goal threat on the international stage, scoring three goals in three World Cup matches, including two against Iran and one against Belgium.
New Zealand were eliminated at the group stage after collecting just one point from three matches, but Just’s personal performances drew widespread attention from clubs across the continent.
Kiwi journalist Michael Burgess has since revealed that some “seriously big teams” want to sign the winger, suggesting the window to secure his services may be narrow.
Like Fellows, Just is a left-footed player who operates on the right wing and consistently looks to create opportunities for teammates, a profile that suits West Brom’s needs precisely.
Morrison must move quickly to challenge Southampton for Just’s signature, ensuring Stewart and Morgan receive the creative service they need to fire the Baggies up the Championship table.