West Brom & Sheffield United could sign £10m star on loan

West Bromwich Albion possess Mikey Johnston. Sheffield United have Gustavo Hamer and Callum O’Hare in their ranks. However, that does not mean they wouldn’t have given an arm and a leg to have Jack Clarke in their team during 2025/26.

After being relegated with Ipswich Town a year ago, Clarke lit up the Championship with his Jack Grealish-like low socks, twisting and turning through defences that often had very little answer.

The Ipswich winger ended the campaign with 16 goals, making him the second-tier’s joint-fourth highest scorer.

It was four clear of Sheffield United’s top scorer in the form of Patrick Bamford and seven clear of Albion’s highest scorer, Aune Heggebo.

So, off the back of a campaign in which both teams failed to achieve their goals, it would not be a surprise if they ended up targeting similar players in their bid to earn promotion.

£10m winger being chased by Championship clubs

In their pursuit of making it back to the Premier League, the Blades have already been linked with plenty of players, including the aforementioned Clarke.

Chris Wilder’s men have been looking on from afar with great affection, but the only way they could ever prise him away from Premier League-bound Ipswich would be if all of a sudden, he didn’t look likely to have regular first-team football at Portman Road.

As a result, one alternative for The Yorkshire club could be Lewis Dobbin, once of West Brom.

Another option could be Brighton and Hove Albion’s Tommy Watson. According to a report from Sky Sports’ Keith Downie on Monday night, Watson has been made available for loan heading into the summer.

As a consequence, multiple Championship clubs are said to be ‘showing interest’ in the winger. Signed for £10m a year ago, the youngster has struggled for regular game time at the Amex and needs to progress his development.

Downie rounds off the report by suggesting that Watson will ‘have his pick’ of second-tier sides once the transfer window opens.

West Brom and Sheffield United are not name-checked but they must be two of the sides to throw their hat in the ring.

Why Sheffield United and West Brom must rival each other for Watson’s signature

For the Baggies, signing a new winger must be a priority this summer, particularly in light of Johnston’s injury towards the back end of the campaign.

While Albion did actually enjoy their finest run of the season without the Scot in the side, that was more down to the feel-good factor that James Morrison instilled in the team.

Johnston’s return over the off-season will no doubt be welcomed but they need another tricky and dangerous winger, such as Watson, to elevate the quality of the squad.

Likewise, at Sheffield United, you sense another winger could be added to the pot. Hamer and O’Hare dazzled last term, while Bamford was a regular source of goals. That said, they are missing a fourth player in that forward line. Watson could be that man,

Truth be told, 2025/26 was not too kind for the Seagulls winger. He endured a goalless stint on loan at promotion-chasing Millwall in the second half of the season. He only started two games.

Yet, in 2024/25, the 20-year-old really burst onto the scene with Sunderland, a place where the aforementioned Clarke also made a name for himself.

At the Black Cats, Clarke netted 11 goals in 2022/23 and then scored 15 in 2023/24. He has long been one of the EFL’s best wingers, even if he did have a one-year stint in the Premier League with Ipswich.

Watson may not be at that level just yet but it did take Clarke a number of years to find consistency himself. In fact, it took him to leave boyhood club Leeds and then Premier League Spurs to finally realise his potential.

The parallels with Watson are eerily similar. He left boyhood Sunderland, headed to Brighton, where he received very limited minutes and could now make a name for himself back in the Football League.

He has shown brief glimpses of his potential, notably in last season’s play-off final. In Clarke-esque fashion, he drove towards the penalty area with his socks rolled low, before burying a fine finish beyond the goalkeeper.

That was Watson at his best and if he could provide the likes of Sheffield United and West Brom with moments like that, signing him on loan would be well worth it.