West Brom chief gives transfer update and latest on Bellingham’s move from Birmingham City to Sunderland

The domestic football season in England concluded last weekend and the final club game in Europe is set to take place this weekend with Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League final.

The EFL Championship season has been finished for a few weeks now and clubs across the division have been turning their attention to the summer transfer window. It’s sure to be a busy one across the country and there are already some big transfers being confirmed while others are edging closer.

The biggest story in the second tier at the moment is Jobe Bellingham’s move from Birmingham City to league rivals Sunderland and there is a fresh update on the status of that transfer. Elsewhere, a key West Brom figure has provided supporters with an update ahead of the window opening. Here are the latest Birmingham City and West Brom transfer news stories on Thursday, June 8:

Sunderland will ‘negotiate until a deal is done’ with Birmingham City for Jobe Bellingham

Per a report from The Sunderland Echo, the Black Cats will keep negotiating with Birmingham City until a deal is done for Jobe Bellingham. Talk had recently suggested that the deal had progressed to the stage of a medical with Bellingham set to join Sunderland for a fee much less than the £3million first mentioned.

It is claimed that Sunderland have been told to up their £1million offer by Birmingham City if they are to sign the 17-year-old midfielder with personal terms between player and club likely already agreed.

‘We need to match the coach’s ambitions’ - West Brom chief gives transfer update

West Brom’s new Head of Football Operations Ian Pearce recently spoke the club’s official media channel and gave an update to supporters ahead of the summer transfer window. He was asked - “What are our transfer plans for this summer?”

Pearce replied: “We need to match the coach’s ambitions for doing the best we can, and trying to build a team that can push for the promotion and play-off places in what is a competitive league. In Jed Wallace, John Swift and Okay Yokuslu, I believe we signed the three best free transfers last year.

This summer we’ll be looking at that market again and seeing what’s available, but we’ll be utilising the loan market too – which is very important for teams in the Championship and can be a good tool for progression. We’ll be assessing both of those markets. And another example of business we’d like to do is Brandon Thomas-Asante, who has been brilliant for us and built a good connection with the fans. We’ll be looking for those types of signings as well.”