West Bromwich Albion are flying high in the Championship so far this season. Carlos Corberán’s Baggies are currently top of the Championship table and are yet to lose a match this season, an incredible bounce back from their playoff heartbreak to Southampton in May, but where has this West Brom been since their relegation in 2021? What has brought this resurgence to the club, and why are they finally looking like a Premier League team again?
It hasn’t been the easiest of years for West Brom. Previous owner, Guochuan Lai, neglected the club while taking money out of it, leaving Albion in all sorts of financial problems, reflecting in results too. However, Albion have been resurged by new owner Shilen Patel and it is extremely visible.
American business-owner Shilen Patel bought West Bromwich Albion from Guochuan Lai in February 2024 and instantly made his mark by setting out a clear and decisive plan to take West Bromwich Albion back on the incline and on the road back to the Premier League.
West Brom were unable to achieve the goal last season, therefore Shilen Patel and head coach Carlos Corberán had a huge task at hand, with plentiful players out of contract and an aging squad, but a very small budget to work with due to financial restrictions.
Shilen Patel, the West Bromwich Albion owner poses at the Hawthorns. (Photo by Adam Fradgley/West Bromwich Albion FC via Getty Images)
West Bromwich Albion lost a significant amount of senior players this summer. Cedric Kipre, Okay Yokuşlu and Brandon Thomas-Asante being the biggest names. A huge rebuild was needed for the Baggies, and it’s looking to be a very successful one so far.
It’s fair to say Carlos Corberán and co. enjoyed their summer transfer window, lowering the average squad age, reducing the wage bill while increasing depth and bringing back fan favourite loanee Mikey Johnston on a permanent deal from Celtic for a reported £3m fee.
Albion adopted a unique, detailed scouting network this summer with new CEO, Andrew Nestor, being the leading figurehead. This strategy has paid off incredibly for West Brom, signing players such as Torbjørn Heggem, Uroš Račić (on loan) and Gianluca Frabotta, all for next to nothing in terms of finances.
And with an already strong Championship squad with players such as England U21 international Tom Fellows, Alex Mowatt, Alex Palmer, and an innovative, determined, hard-working, almost ‘genius’ head coach in Carlos Corberán, Albion were destined to be in the fight for promotion this season.
Tom Fellows celebrates after scoring his first England U21 goal to make it 4-1 during the U21 international friendly match between England and Austria. (Photo by Catherine Ivill - AMA/Getty Images)
So, what is different about West Brom this season?
Albion are flourishing so far this season ahead of their clash with Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough on Saturday, but what has made them look so lively?
A returning-from-injury Josh Maja has answered all Baggies fans’ prayers when asking for a prolific goalscorer, something they haven’t seen since Dwight Gayle and Jay Rodriguez back in the 2018/19 season. Maja has netted 6 goals in 6 matches for Albion this season and is currently the league’s leading goalscorer.
His partnership with up and coming youngster Tom Fellows has been nothing short of spectacular. Fellows has assisted 3 of Maja’s 6, with an extra assist to Karlan Grant, making his total assist count 4 and also making him the league’s leading assister.
Tom Fellows attracted Premier League interest towards the end of the summer window, with Ipswich reportedly interested and Southampton having a £10m bid rejected, and it’s clear to see why.
Fellows is a traditional winger who loves to run at fullbacks, with an iconic step-over leading into a cross, which no Championship left-back has managed to figure out how to prevent. Now with Maja on the end of these, West Bromwich Albion are looking unstoppable.
Albion’s defence has also been core to the success so far once again, conceding the least amount of goals in the league (2) despite losing star player Cedric Kipre in the summer.
With golden glove winner Alex Palmer in goal, previous promotion winners with Albion Darnell Furlong, Semi Ajayi and Kyle Bartley at the back alongside Norweigan powerhouse Torbjørn Heggem, the Baggies are going to be an extremely tough team to break down.
And with depth as deep as Gianluca Frabotta, Mason Holgate, Callum Styles, Grady Diangana, Mikey Johnston, Jed Wallace, a soon-to-return Daryl Dike and more, West Bromwich Albion appear to have finally resolved every issue they have previously had with their squad, including being unable to win matches away from home.
Albion only won 6 out of 23 away matches last season, but so far this season have a 100% win record away from home.
(Photo by Adam Fradgley/West Bromwich Albion FC via Getty Images)
It’s still early days in the 2024/25 campaign, but we simply have to take West Bromwich Albion seriously once again, because at this rate, before we know it, the Baggies are headed back to the big time in the Premier League with hopes of re-gaining their Premier League status and reaching beyond it. An exciting time for fans in and around the Hawthorns.
