West Bromwich Albion failed in their first attempt to get back into the Premier League last season.
With 46 games played, the Baggies ended up winning 18, drawing 13 and losing 15, ultimately leaving them in 10th place with 67 points, 23 fewer than league winners Fulham.
One positive factor for the Midlands club throughout the campaign was Karlan Grant, who ended the season with more goal contributions (24) than any other West Brom player.
Having relied on the 24-year-old to be their main attacking threat last season, the summer transfer window could give Steve Bruce the chance to bring in the club’s next version of Grant and help share the goalscoring load at the Hawthorns.
Last month, the Baggies were said to have Aston Villa striker Cameron Archer on their transfer radar for the summer.
As a product of Villa’s youth system, the 20-year-old has made 59 appearances for the club across their senior and youth sides, scoring 23 goals in the process.
During his loan spell in the Championship with Preston North End last season, the youngster found the net seven times in 20 league appearances.
This shows that the attacker certainly has an eye for goal and now has the experience of playing in the second division.
In fact, as well as being described as “clinical” by journalist Tom Barclay, Archer has also been labelled as a “goal machine” by Villa journalist Ashley Preece.
In addition to this, with an average of 2.3 shots per game during his time at Deepdale, this isn’t too far away from the 2.5 shots per game that Grant averaged throughout the entire campaign at West Brom, further highlighting the attacking similarities between the two.
Would Cameron Archer be a good signing for West Brom?
His clear goalscoring credentials could make the £5.4m-rated starlet an ideal signing for West Brom this summer, either on a permanent or loan deal.
Moving forward, with Steven Gerrard’s side having the likes of Danny Ings and Ollie Watkins in their squad, regular senior game time at Villa could be rather difficult for the youngster to get next season.
This, then, could allow the Baggies to swoop in and take the youngster off their Midlands rival’s hands this summer and increase their chances of getting back to the Premier League at the same time.
AND in other news: Joe Masi drops behind-the-scenes transfer claim that West Brom supporters will love
