Every player on West Brom’s Christmas transfer wishlist - including ex-Spurs star and £5m midfielder
The players West Brom will be looking to sign when the January transfer window opens for business
West Bromwich Albion fans will be hoping for a more successful January transfer window than the last summer one at the Hawthorns, when 14 players walked for free and they largely failed to replace them.
Aune Heggebo has been the most successful purchase, leading The Baggies’ scoring charts as they’ve otherwise failed to knock in goals at the same rate as the teams they’ve been used to rubbing shoulders with in previous seasons.
Meanwhile the defence could use an upgrade particularly at full-back, and upgrading the central and attacking midfield stable wouldn’t be a bad move either. In truth, when you’re as low as West Brom are in the league then there aren’t many areas of the starting lineup that can’t use an upgrade.
So these are the players that Baggies fans should hope to see announced as new signings imminently or in the summer, to fire West Brom’s bid for a Championship mid-table finish - or more.
Who is on West Bromwich Albion’s Christmas transfer wish list?
George Earthy - Topping the list of targets for 2025 should be George Earthy, who has no shortage of Championship suitors. Earthy was a key player in Bristol City’s run to the playoffs last season and was poised for a move to Wrexham on loan before canning that deal at the 11th hour to push for a place in the West Ham United first team.
Given he’s only featured for The Hammers in the EFL Trophy so far this season, he may well be more open to a January move and if he is, West Brom should push for a dream move though it may be a temproary one given Earthy was valued at £5 million in the summer.
Dele Alli - If anyone deserves another chance, it’s Dele Alli. Compared to the likes of Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard as a teenager and ranked as the most expensive midfielder on the planet in 2018 by the CIES Football Observatory ahead of Kevin de Bruyne, Paul Pogba and N’Golo Kante, he’s suffered a dramatic fall from grace in the last five years.
Alli has had failed spells at Everton, Besiktas and Como around stints in rehab due to his struggles in dealing with childhood trauma. But his relationship with Ryan Mason means links to West Brom have sprung up and if he can return to anything like his best form, Alli can almost single-handedly turn The Baggies around.
Josh Murphy - It’s a Christmas list, it’s not meant to be realistic. Murphy may have penned a new deal at Fratton Park but with Portsmouth in infinitely direr relegation trouble than West Brom, he could still be available in the summer depending on how Pompey’s season finishes.
Bailey Rice - The youngest post-war player to play a league game for Rangers, Rice is set to become a free agent in the summer and teams outside Scotland can sign pre-contract agreements with him from the start of 2026. Aston Villa and Cardiff are also interested in the full-back, but The Baggies can pitch their offer as the best blend of a high level combined with an immediate route to the first team.