Albion’s Fab Four? | OneFootball

January transfer windows are notoriously difficult to navigate and Albion’s task in this year’s one was made all more the difficult by entering it without a head coach in place.

Obviously, the work to identify targets will have been going on for months, and a new head coach will not necessarily amend the overall direction of the club, particularly when things on the field are not going too awry. However, as long as an appointment was imminent, there would be a desire for the new man to have some input, if not a veto, over any incomings, and it was not, therefore, a surprise that there was little obvious activity until after Tony Mowbray’s appointment.

While things on the pitch have been relatively OK, there has been an obvious weakness in the team – goals. Daryl Dike’s extended absence coupled with an injury to Josh Maja heightened those concerns and, while a 5-1 victory over Portsmouth in Mowbray’s opening home game seemed to make light of the issue, Albion’s lack of potency in front of goal has been evident all season and was further demonstrated in the defeat to Plymouth Argyle last weekend.

Thankfully, the recruitment team was very aware of the problem and agreed the loan signing of Will Lankshear, a young striker from Premier League Tottenham Hotspur on Friday evening, before pulling off a more significant coup in the loan signing of Southampton striker, Adam Armstrong, although Baggies fans faced an anxious wait for that deal to be confirmed by the EFL on Tuesday.

The first man through the door was young Northern Irish international midfielder, Isaac Price, who joined from Belgian club, Standard Liège earlier in January while Albion will hope to have unearthed a young gem in the shape of Danish attacking midfielder, Tammer Bany, who made a permanent move from Superliga club, Randers, on deadline day.

The club’s financial situation means that there had to be some outgoings to allow the new players to come in, and few will have been too disappointed to see Lewis Dobbin and Uroš Račić return to their parent clubs (and immediately be loaned out again) having not made an impact in their time at the Hawthorns while Paddy McNair had already returned to San Diego as planned.

The one departure that will have been less welcome is that of first choice goalkeeper, Alex Palmer, who joined Ipswich Town for a fee reported to be an initial £2m rising to near £5m with add-ons. Tempered by the knowledge that a ready-made replacement in the shape of Josh Griffiths was recalled from his successful loan spell at Bristol Rovers, it was a piece of business that was perhaps necessary to strengthen the squad in other areas.

It is a window that appears to reinforce the new owners’ stated plan of building a squad of young players with a future sell-on value. The two permanent signings are both aged 21 while Palmer, at 28, is getting towards that sell-on age although perhaps a little young for a goalkeeper. Plus, of course, Palmer cost the club nothing having come through the academy and his sale represents pure profit.

Meanwhile, the loan signings plug a noticeable gap in the squad that has been exacerbated by injuries – one is very much a known quantity while the other has huge potential. Obviously, the success of a window cannot be judged for several months but, on the face of it, this one looks pretty strong so far.

Isaac Price

Born: 26th September 2003 (age 21), PontefractSigned: 22nd January 2025, undisclosed feeFrom: Standard Liège

Born in West Yorkshire, Isaac Price was brought up in Wakefield and join Everton at the age of 7 signing his first professional contract in September 2020.

He made his professional debut as a late substitute in the Toffees’ 2-0 win over Boreham Wood in March 2022 at the age of 19. He made his Premier League debut in the final game of that season, again from the bench, in Everton’s 5-1 defeat at Arsenal.

After making just one more substitute appearance for the Toffees, Price moved abroad in search of regular senior football joining Belgian Pro League side, Standard Liège in June 2023. His displays for Everton’s U23 side had been good enough to earn him a senior international call up earlier that year. While English-born, Price’s ancestry allowed him to play for both Germany and the Republic of Ireland but he answered the call from the birthplace of his paternal grandmother, Northern Ireland, playing at U16, U17, U19 and U21 levels before making his senior debut as a substitute against San Marino in March 2023.

He went straight into the starting line-up for Liège making his debut at Sint-Truidien on the opening day of the 2023/24 campaign starting the first five games of the season. He then spent a period out of the starting line-up but came off the bench in the home match against Club Brugge in October to score the winner in a 2-1 win with what was the first senior club goal of his career. He earned his place back in the first eleven a few weeks later before being sent off for the first time in a 2-0 defeat in the Croky Cup at Anderlecht in December. He ended up featuring in all but two of Standard Liège’s 42 games that campaign, starting 30 of them. He has been similarly important in the current campaign featuring in every single game, only three of those from the bench, with his last game on 19th January coming against the same opponents as his first for Standard Liège, Sint-Truiden.

Price has also become a mainstay of Michael O’Neil’s Northern Ireland team – having been used twice from the bench following that first call up in March 2023, he made his first international start against Denmark in June of that year and scored his first international goal, his first senior goal of any type, in September 2023 in a 4-2 defeat in Slovenia. O’Neil has tended to use Price in a more advanced role than the one he plays for his club and, as a result, he has been able to contribute more goals and has found the net on six occasions for the GAWA including a hat trick in a 5-0 win over Bulgaria in October. He has been an ever-present for his country this season and now has eighteen caps.

Will Lankshear

Born: 20th April 2005 (age 19), Welwyn Garden CitySigned: 31st January 2025, loanFrom: Tottenham Hotspur

Born in Hertfordshire, Lankshear originally joined the Arsenal academy before signing a scholarship contract with Sheffield United in February 2021. He captained the Blades’ U18 side that won Division 2 of the Professional Development League and his performances and goals, he scored 38 in 48 appearances for United’s youth teams, attracted the interest of Premier League clubs and he was signed by Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2022 for a reported fee of £2m.

After impressing for the PL2 side, scoring 25 goals in 26 games in the 2023/24 season, Lankshear was nearing the first team picture and was included in a senior squad for the first time for the Europa League match with Qarabag in September 2024. He mad his first senior appearance away to Ferencváros the following month as a starter, playing 66 minutes before being replaced by James Maddison.

His second appearance, also as a starter, was full of incident. He led the line between Heung-min Son and Brennan Johnson for Spurs’ match away to Galatasaray in November. He scored his only senior goal to date on the 18th minute to make the score 1-1, a proper poacher’s goal from a couple of yards out. In the first fifteen minutes of the second half, with Spurs now 3-1 down, Lankshear picked up two yellow cards and was sent off.

He hasn’t started a game since but made his first Premier League appearance off the bench in the 1-1 draw with Fulham in December and has subsequently made three further substitute appearances, most recently in the defeat to Leicester City last week.

Lankshear has played for England at both U19 and U20 level scoring four goals in nine appearances.

Tammer Bany

Born: 19th October 2003 (age 21), CopenhagenSigned: 3rd February 2025, undisclosed feeFrom: Randers

Although of Palestinian descent, Tammer Bany was born in Copenhagen a little over 21 years ago. He joined local club Vanløse as a schoolboy but signed professional terms with Boldklubben, then a Danish third-tier club based in the Østerbro region of the Danish capital, in 2019 at the age of just 15.

He made a handful of appearances in his first season but scored on his full debut in December 2020 in cup match against Aalborg. He started to make more of an impact in the following campaign making his first league start in November 2021 against FA2000 as a centre forward scoring once in a 2-0 victory.

Bany finished the 2021/22 season with three goals in seventeen appearances as Boldklubben missed out on promotion. In 2022/23, Bany found himself a regular starter, mostly as a striker, as Boldklubben pushed once again for promotion to the First Division. He scored seven times in 26 appearances and helped his club secure second spot in the promotion group and elevation into Denmark’s Championship equivalent.

After impressing for Boldklubben in the First Division, he was spotted by Randers of the Superliga and made the move in February 2024 making his first start for the club in the final match of the regular season, a 1-1 draw with Nordsjaelland. He started the first three games of the Relegation Round, where the bottom half of the league play in a mini-league, but an ankle injury ended his season prematurely.

Bany scored his first goal for Randers in the first game of this season, a 3-2 win at Vejle. He has been a regular starter for Randers for much of the season as the Jutland team have challenged for the European places. He scored again in a 4-1 win at Sønderjyske and he has moved to England with Randers in third place in the Superliga, just three points off leaders Copenhagen.

Adam Armstrong

Born: 10th February 1997 (age 27), Newcastle-upon-TyneSigned: 3rd February 2025, loanFrom: Southampton

Adam Armstrong is no stranger to Baggies fans having scored twice in the second leg of the play-off semi-final for Southampton in May having also scored in the regular league fixture at St Mary’s in November 2023. I’m sure that most will be delighted to see him in Albion colours for the rest of the season.

Born in the West Denton area of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Armstrong was a boyhood Newcastle United fan and joined his beloved Toon at the age of nine. After progressing through the youth teams, he was first included in the first team squad for a Premier League match at Norwich City in January 2014 and he made his debut from the bench a couple of months later in Newcastle’s 1-0 defeat at Fulham. At the age of just 17, he became the Toon’s second youngest ever Premier League player. His first start came in a League Cup tie with Crystal Palace in September of that year, making his first Premier League start at Old Trafford on Boxing Day.

He made a few more substitute appearances towards the end of the season but the club decided to send him on loan for the 2015/16 campaign to Coventry City, then in League One, where he would first work with Tony Mowbray. He was an instant hit scoring twice on his debut as the Sky Blues beat Wigan Athletic 2-0. He then scored another brace away to Millwall and found the net again in City’s next home game against Crewe Alexandra making it five goals in his first three games. He scored his first career hat trick at Gresty Road in January 2016 and ended the season with 20 goals from 40 appearances.

In his absence, Newcastle United were relegated and, although he made a couple of substitute appearances at the start of the Championship campaign, he was sent out on loan again, this time to Barnsley who were also in Championship. With the Tykes struggling at the wrong end of the table, Armstrong found goals more difficult to come by and scored just six times in 35 games that season.

The 2017/18 season saw him out on loan again, this time at Bolton Wanderers, another Championship struggler. He scored just three times in 23 games for the Trotters and was recalled in January to be immediately sent out on loan again. He would return to League One to link up again with Tony Mowbray, this time at Blackburn Rovers. He had a positive impact once again scoring nine goals in the run-in to help Rovers to automatic promotion.

Mowbray evidently liked what he saw and Blackburn signed Armstrong permanently that summer. He struggled a little in his first full season at Ewood Park, as he had done in the Championship at Barnsley, scoring just eight goals in all competitions, but he started to come into his own for the 2019/20 campaign scoring 17 goals and featuring in every one of Rovers’ league matches.

The following season proved to be the best of his career to date as he scored three hat tricks, against Wycombe Wanderers, Huddersfield Town and Birmingham City, and notched 29 goals in total and he finished second in the Championship scorers table with 28, two behind Ivan Toney.

That was enough to tempt Premier League Southampton to move for him, signing him for an undisclosed fee believed to be in the region of £15m. Armstrong scored on his debut at Everton, but it was one of only two goals he scored that season and he would score just three in 2022/23 as the Saints were relegated. Back in the Championship last season, he found his scoring touch once again finishing the season with 24 goals in all competitions, including those three against the Baggies.

This season, he has been playing fairly regularly and has scored another two Premier League goals, most recently in the Saints’ 3-2 home defeat by Liverpool in November. He has started 15 Premier League games this season so it is something of a surprise that he has been made available for this loan move.