West Brom keen to sign Southampton striker

West Bromwich Albion jumped out of the trap when it came to conducting business in the early summer transfer window.

The Baggies have already signed two players for next season’s Championship, Jimmy Jay Morgan and Bernie Stewart, who will strengthen the attacking options at James Morrison’s disposal.

As well as doing everything in his power to immediately improve his attack as Morrison looks towards promotion to the Premier League, he also has the future in mind, with the signing of Carter Pinnington from Liverpool confirmed for the young centre-back to feature in the Under-21s.

Remarkably, despite securing early door signings for the trio, further summer signings are expected as Morrison remains favored in the market to finally take the West Midlands side back to the big stage.

West Brom are keen to re-sign him

Given that this is the Scottish player’s first full-time job, it would be a stretch to expect the new head coach to become a promotion-clinching manager any time soon.

But if signings continue at this fast pace, Baggies supporters’ hopes for the Hawthorns will be that their beloved side will be in or around the top six next May, with Cameron Archer reportedly currently on their radar.

In fact, according to West Brom journalist Steve Tagay, Archer is set to leave Southampton at the end of this off-season, with Morrison “very keen” to sign the unstable striker.

It may seem a bit of a stretch for West Brom to pursue another attacker with Morgan and Stewart both already confirmed, but the signing of the Walsall-born talent could give the Baggies an immediate upgrade, with the former Falkirk centre-forward’s lack of experience with the England squad causing some concern.

Why Archer is an upgrade over Stewart

This statement is not intended to diminish Stewart’s explosive goalscoring exploits at Falkirk, with the four-time Scotland Under-21 international having scored 12 of his 20 career goals at home and plying his trade at the Falkirk Stadium.

Still, jumping from the Scottish Premiership to the demanding demands of the Championship will be a learning curve for the 22-year-old. Morgan, who was exposed to League One action at Peterborough United last season, also demands some patience from the Baggies faithful as a promising 20-year-old.

Archer, on the other hand, already arrives with a wealth of Championship experience and has also scored six goals in the Premier League.

Although he has fallen down the pecking order at St Mary’s in recent years, he proved to be a deadly option in the Championship last season, scoring seven goals in just 996 minutes in limited minutes.

The EFL standout has racked up a total of 22 goals and 10 assists in 70 appearances in the demanding division, with Archer further living up to his reputation as a “fantastic” finisher bestowed on him by manager James Quinn, who coached the 24-year-old at Second Division Solihull Moors.

He has performed well in training camp for promotion to the Premier League, scoring 11 goals in just 23 appearances for Middlesbrough in 2022/23, helping Boro reach the play-offs they had always wanted.

Although Stewart does not have Archer’s wealth of experience, he has bounced back against a striker of Archer’s caliber and has no doubt helped the raw Scottish player develop into an exciting attacking threat.

Stewart won the Scottish Football Writers’ Association Young Player of the Year award last season and is highly rated by Falkirk manager and is expected to go on to success in England.

But if they are looking for a more immediate result in a potential promotion battle, Archer would be their next sensational signing as West Brom’s squad continues to be restructured to suit Morrison’s preferences this summer.