West Brom are chasing West Ham to sign their next version of Harvey Barnes
West Bromwich Albion are one month away from kicking off their Championship campaign with a trip to Carrow Road to face Norwich City in August.
The Baggies finished 21st in the second division in the 2025/26 campaign and are hoping to move up the table under permanent manager James Morrison, who has already made a number of eye-catching additions to the squad.
Forwards Jimmy-Jay Morgan and Barney Stewart, who scored a combined 32 goals last season for their respective clubs, have both been brought in on permanent deals.
Both play in central attacking positions, however, and West Brom still need to add more firepower to their squad in the wider areas of the attacking set-up.
Why West Brom need to land their next Harvey Barnes
After spending £1.6m on Stewart and up to £4m on Morgan, the Baggies may need to look for bargains in other positions, which is why the Premier League loan market could be an attractive way down.
Back in the summer of 2018, the club hit the jackpot with the loan signing of Harvey Barnes from Leicester City, as he hit the ground running as a left-sided striker at The Hawthorns.
The England striker scored nine goals and provided six assists in 26 Championship appearances in the first half of the 2018/19 campaign, prompting the Foxes to recall him in January.
In the 2025/26 season, none of West Brom’s wide players scored more than two goals in the second division, with Mike Johnston and Jed Wallace both scoring twice in the division.
The lack of goal threat from Morrison’s wide players last term suggests he may still need to return to the market this summer for the second coming of Barnes, who was a regular scorer on the left wing during his loan spell at Leicester.
West Brom in the race to sign Harvey Barnes
There are plenty of up-and-coming young players in the Premier League available on loan, and the Baggies are already eyeing a star who could be their next version of Barnes.
The Sunderland Echo reports that West Bromwich Albion are one of a number of clubs in the race to sign Brighton & Hove Albion winger Tommy Watson on loan in the summer transfer window.
Leicester City, Derby County, West Ham United, and Hull City are also said to have registered an interest in the former Black Cats striker, but he is said to be expected to sign for the Championship side, who may not rule out the Foxes and Hull.
That means the Baggies may have to battle newly relegated West Ham and John Eustace’s Derby to secure the 20-year-old talent, who was once hailed as “great” by journalist Josh Bunting.
|
25/26 League Cup |
Tommy Watson |
|---|---|
|
Appearance |
3 |
|
Goals |
1 |
|
Minutes per goal |
137 |
|
Key passes per game |
1.7 |
|
Great opportunities have been created |
1 |
|
It helps |
3 |
Although Watson did not score in 12 games on loan at Millwall in the second half of the season, the youngster caught the eye in the League Cup with Brighton, scoring one goal and providing three assists in three games, last term.
The England U21, who scored the winner in Sunderland’s 2025 play-off final, is yet to feature in the first team since breaking through for the Black Cats, but his form at youth level suggests it is only a matter of time.
Watson scored 18 goals in 40 games for Sunderland at U18 level and produced 14 goals and 11 assists in 32 games for their U21 side at academy level, showing that he has the ability to deliver both goals and assists regularly.
His academy form suggests he could be West Brom’s next version of Barnes as he is another Premier League loanee who can arrive at The Hawthorns to score goals week in and week out as a right-footed striker.
The Baggies are in dire need of a goal threat from wide areas and Watson has the potential to be exactly what they are looking for, which is why they need to push to beat West Ham in his signing.
