The Baggies, under the guidance of Carlos Corberan, will be vying for promotion back to the Premier League at the third attempt after narrowly losing out on a play-off spot the previous season despite a strong stretch of performance.
Albion was primarily focused on departures to raise money after taking out a £20 million loan from MSD Holdings, with nine leaving the Black Country during the summer transfer window. Albion were restricted to just free transfers and loan deals for recruitment.
Here at Football League World, we take a look at the nine WBA players and how they are getting on since departing the Hawthorns.
Dara O’Shea
Starting off is former Baggies defender Dara O’Shea, who progressed through the youth ranks for the Black County outfit to become a first-team mainstay.
Given his break by Slaven Bilic at the beginning of the 2019/20 season, the 24-year-old made 107 appearances in blue and white over four campaigns.
Jake Livermore
Up next is former Albion club captain Jake Livermore, who spent a lengthy six-and-a-half years in the West Midlands.
Spanning 216 games – scoring nine goals and registering 12 assists, Livermore moved onto pastures new at Watford, teaming up with former WBA boss Valerien Ismael, with the pair working together back in 2021.
David Button
Goalkeeper David Button was another summer departure from the Hawthorns, whose performances caught the eye of the Baggies faithful, but for the wrong reasons.After becoming the designated number one between the posts under Steve Bruce, Button was demoted under Corberan with the emergence of Alex Palmer and Josh Griffiths putting the brakes on the 34-year-old’s gametime.
Tom Rogic
Former Australian international Tom Rogic saw his deal expire this summer after a forgettable experience with the Baggies.After joining from Scottish champions Celtic on a free transfer, Rogic failed to adapt to the relentless nature of the Championship, registering only one goal and three assists from 20 second-tier matches.
Karlan Grant
Karlan Grant was another exit this summer transfer window, moving to South Wales and Cardiff City for the season.
The former Charlton Athletic and Huddersfield Town forward was Albion’s top scorer back in the 2021/22 campaign, returning 18 strikes from 44 games.
Taylor Gardner-Hickman
Another WBA academy graduate to depart is Taylor Gardner-Hickman, who made the switch to Nigel Pearson’s Bristol City this summer on a season-long loan.The 21-year-old has played 52 times for his boyhood club and spent his first time away from the Albion setup to gain further experience in the Championship.
Zac Ashworth
Zac Ashworth, who too came through the youth ranks at Albion, made a consecutive loan switch to League One this summer with Bolton Wanderers after a successful stint with Burton Albion last term.
Under Ian Evatt, the Trotters do have an option to buy in their agreement with WBA, but the Welsh youth international is yet to make a league start, playing a total of just 52 minutes from 11 league games.
Ethan Ingram
Fellow defender Ethan Ingram was another loan departure this summer, joining League Two outfit Salford City for the campaign.
Ingram had failed to make a competitive league appearance for the Baggies, and moved to the Peninsula Stadium to get much needed EFL experience under his belt.
Kean Bryan
Rounding off the list is central defender Kean Bryan, who failed to resurrect his Baggies career after sustaining an ACL injury back in November 2021.
After a setback in his recovery matched with his fall down the pecking order, Bryan was released this summer and is still without a club presently, with the 26-year-old still feeling the effects of such a serious injury issue.
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