£3.3m West Brom star will be finished if Baggies sign Southampton’s Archer

West Bromwich Albion may need to dip back into the market to sign another centre-forward after the signing of Barney Stewart and Jimmy-Jay Morgan this summer.

The Baggies recently confirmed that Karlan Grant and Josh Maja will not be returning to The Hawthorns after their contracts expired at the start of the month, whilst it was already known that Daryl Dike was not being given a new deal.

That means that James Morrison is one striker down on last season’s squad as three players have moved on and only Stewart and Morgan have been brought in to bolster the team.

One of the centre-forwards who has been suggested as a potential target for the Baggies this summer is Southampton number nine Cameron Archer.

Why Cameron Archer would be a good signing for West Brom

Whether on loan or on a permanent deal, the English attacker would be an excellent addition to Morrison’s squad because he is a proven Championship goalscorer.

The former England U21 international has scored 22 goals and provided ten assists in 70 Championship appearances in his career, despite only starting 46 of those matches.

Archer scored four goals in 11 starts for the Saints in the 2025/26 campaign, as Ross Stewart and Cyle Larin were ahead of him in the pecking order, which shows that he can be an effective scorer when given minutes to shine.

The 24-year-old star, who scored 17 goals in 36 games for Aston Villa at U21 level, has scored goals in the second tier for Preston North End, Middlesbrough, and Southampton, which shows that he can also adapt to new environments to score goals.

His goalscoring record and proven quality in the league suggests that he would be able to hit the ground running at The Hawthorns, which is why he would be an excellent signing for the Baggies if they decide to seriously pursue his signature.

West Brom striker is finished if Archer signs

If Morrison does successfully secure the signing of Archer before the end of the summer transfer window, it could be the end of one of the line for one of his other attackers.

The Baggies swooped to sign Jordan international Tammer Bany from Danish side Randers for a fee of £3.3m in February 2025 in an attempt to bolster their attack for the second half of the 2024/25 campaign.

It is fair to say, unfortunately, that his time at The Hawthorns has not gone to plan so far, as he has made eight first-team appearances in 18 months at the club.

The 22-year-old attacker only made four appearances in the Championship for West Brom last season, failing to start a single match, whilst he also missed 19 games with a thigh injury.

Bany has not made much of an impression when fit, though, as he has not scored any goals in his eight Championship outings for the club, but that should not come as a surprise, given his form for Randers.

The Jordan international only scored two goals in 24 first-team matches for the Danish side before the Baggies decided to splash £3.3m on his services, which means that his lack of goals for the Baggies should not be surprising.

Nine months ago, Bany told supporters that he would be able to make an impact on the pitch when he is in a good physical condition, but almost a year later, there has been little change in his situation.

Injuries are unfortunate and it is not his fault that he has been unavailable on a regular basis, but West Brom may not want to continue with a player who has been unreliable from a fitness perspective, whilst making little impact when fit.

That is why the signing of Archer from Southampton this summer could finally end Bany’s time at The Hawthorns, as it would leave him struggling for minutes even if he got himself back to a good physical condition.

Therefore, Morrison should be sanctioning a loan or permanent exit for the 22-year-old striker in the coming weeks, if he is able to bring in a new number nine, whether is Archer or someone else.