West Brom must beat Middlesbrough to sign their biggest talent since Fellows

West Bromwich Albion suffered a dismal 2025/26 campaign as a result of their attempt to take the club in a new direction with younger managers and younger signings.

Instead of relying on experienced ‘Championship proven’ signings like Jed Wallace and John Swift, the Baggies appointed Ryan Mason and swooped for younger players, such as George Campbell and Aune Heggebo.

Of course, the appointments of Mason and then Eric Ramsay did not go to plan, but James Morrison now has the reins and looks to be the youthful head coach they have been looking for.

The former Baggies central midfielder only lost two of his 13 Championship games in charge of the club in the second half of the season, guiding the team clear of the bottom three.

Now, instead of ripping up the club’s plans to take the team in a new direction, Morrison must continue the project and aim to take it to the next level.

Why West Brom must continue their youth recruitment drive

West Brom have uncovered some excellent young players in recent years. Heggebo, 24, and Isaac Price, 21, both scored nine league goals this season.

They also brought Tom Fellows through their academy system and he provided 14 Championship assists before his £10m move to Southampton in the summer of 2024.

One of the benefits of developing young players is that they have the potential to be sold on for a profit in the future, which was the case with Fellows, which helps the club to then fund more additions to the squad.

West Brom, therefore, must continue their youth recruitment drive so that they can slowly build a team that is constantly improving and developing, in the hope that they can create a promotion-winning outfit in the Championship.

Now, the Baggies have been linked with a star who could arrive at The Hawthorns as their biggest talent since they allowed Fellows to leave the club last year.

West Brom could sign their biggest talent since Tom Fellows

West Brom are one of a number of teams, including Championship rivals Middlesbrough and Portsmouth, interested in a deal to sign Leon King from Rangers on a free transfer.

Boro, of course, just lost the Championship play-off final to Hull City at Wembley on Saturday, after the spygate drama, and will be one of the favourites for promotion under Kim Hellberg next term.

Now, the Baggies must push to beat them to the signing of King on a free transfer because he is an impressive young defender who could be their biggest talent since Fellows.

King spent the 2025/26 campaign on loan at Ayr United in the Scottish Championship and recorded a staggering 377 ball recoveries in 26 games, 14.5 per match on average.

For context, Nat Phillips and Chris Mepham averaged 6.9 ball recoveries combined in the English Championship this season, with the former averaging 3.9 and the latter 3.0.

King’s 14.5 ball recoveries per game is more than any West Brom player managed this term, which speaks to how effective he is at winning the ball back for his side from a centre-back position.

The 22-year-old starlet, who has been capped 11 times by Scotland at U21 level, is an exceptional young talent who made great strides as a youth player at Ibrox.

He made his senior debut as a 16-year-old under Steven Gerrard and played six times in the Champions League as an 18-year-old for Giovanni van Bronckhorst in the 2022/23 campaign, before injuries halted his development in Scotland.

King is now back to playing regular football, as evidenced by his time at Ayr this season, and West Brom could help him to get back on track to being the huge talent that he promised to be when he first broke through at Rangers.

A player who was considered good enough to play regular Champions League minutes at 18 has big potential and he could be a phenomenal addition to this developing West Brom team under Morrison, adding quality and youthfulness to the defence.

King has the credentials, with his performances this season and his achievements at Rangers as a young player, to be the club’s biggest young talent since Fellows at The Hawthorns.

That is why they must beat Middlesbrough to his signing this summer, potentially by offering more regular game time than Boro, who have Dael Fry and Adilson Malanda as their centre-back options.