West Brown Coach Revealed His Plans Ahead Of Transfer Window Deadline

Shilen Patel ‘knows’ how many transfers West Brom must still complete

Kyle Bartley has echoed Carlos Corberan’s sentiments that West Bromwich Albion still require as many as four new players before the transfer window closes at the end of this month – and he has backed Bilkul and head of football operations Ian Pearce to suitably equip the squad and the management as they target another top six tilt.

Centre half Bartley, who has signed on for a seventh season and helped Albion post their first clean sheet of the new season with a goalless draw at home to his former club Leeds United on Saturday, has seen the changing room take on a dramatic difference in appearance already this summer; a host of key players, including Mikey Johnston, Matt Phillips, Okay Yokuslu, Conor Townsend and Brandon Thomas-Asante have all left.

In their place have come loanees Paddy McNair and Lewis Dobbin, overseas talents Torbjorn Heggem, Ousmane Diakite and Gianluca Frabotta and others to flesh out the squad including Devante Cole and Joe Wildsmith. Still, though, there is a consensus within the walls of the Albion training ground that they are short, despite a positive return of four points from their opening couple of games.

“At the moment I would say so,” Bartley admitted, when asked if Albion would struggle to replicate last season’s fifth placed finish if no more players were to join. “I’d say we are three or four players short in the squad. Carlos has mentioned that, the ownership group know that.

“It’s up to the guys behind the scenes to give Carlos and the squad more ammunition. It’s going to be a long hard season. We’re going to pick up injuries. All we can do as a group of players and staff is try and get results as it is at the moment. Hopefully before deadline day we’ll have some new additions.”

Bartley suffered his second play-off disappointment as an Albion player at the back end of last season, having become a crucial member of the starting XI since Corberan arrived in the winter of 2022. He has quickly put that disappointment behind him and offered a philosophical outlook on the emotional fluctuations of a football career.

“It’s the same with every footballer,” he added. “You’re not going to have constant good times. I’ve been around the game long enough and I know throughout the season you’ll have ups and downs and throughout your career. It’s about how you manage it – don’t get too high, don’t get too low, try and remain consistent, work hard and believe that the good times are going to keep coming.

“We’ve got a lot of experience in the squad. I myself have lost in the play-offs before, Carlos has, a lot of players so you have to go away in the summer, put it behind you, come back and try and make a good start and that’s what we’ve done.”