West Brom's intriguing new manager and his bold £7m first transfer window predicted

West Brom started 2025 in ideal fashion, earning a hard-fought 3-1 win over Preston North End on New Year's Day. A first half brace from striker Josh Maja and a goal from Callum Styles put the Baggies well in control at The Hawthorns, and they were able to see the result over line despite a spirited effort from the travelling opposition.

Interim manager Chris Brunt will be looking to rack up as many points as possible during his time at the helm, as the Baggies prepare for a challenging trip to Swansea City at the weekend. As things stand, West Brom sit sixth in the Championship table, but just six points currently separate them from the Swans in 12th place.

Amid the Baggies' push for the play-offs, the hunt for a new manager still goes on behind the scenes, as the club look to appoint a permanent successor to Carlos Corberan, who left to join Valencia on Christmas Eve. The likes of Liverpool coach John Heitinga and Swansea boss Luke Williams are currently among the favourites to become West Brom's next manager.

As the decision makers at the club whittle down the potential candidates to find their ideal person for the job, we fired up the latest edition of Football Manager, and ran a simulation to determine who would be named as West Brom's next head coach. On top of that, we also got the notoriously addictive management game to predict every signing who would be made in the January window.

Who was named as West Brom's new manager?

After a couple of weeks of frantic calls to agents, the white smoke finally billowed from the Baggies' board room. The obligatory, cryptic social media posts were sent out, and West Brom fans waited eagerly to see who would be stepping into the hot seat.

As crowds gathered outside The Hawthorns, none other than current Kilmarnock manager Derek McInnes hopped out of the gleaming limousine (alright, we're allowing ourselves a bit of artistic licence here) and signed on the dotted line, committing to a three-year contract.

We can see Football Manager's logic here, with McInnes having previously played for West Brom for three seasons back in the early 2000s. Indeed, he captained the side in his second campaign, leading the team to promotion back up to the Premier League. He's also been linked with a move back to the West Midlands before, leading the list of favourites before Valerien Ismael was ultimately given the nod back in the summer of 2021.

Since his playing days drew to a close in 2008, he has managed four clubs - St Johnstone, Aberdeen, Bristol City and Kilmarnock. He won the old Scottish First Division with St Johnstone in 2009, the Scottish Championship with Kilmarnock in 2022, and even managed to pick up the Scottish League Cup with Aberdeen in 2014.

Who did West Brom sign in the January transfer window?

With the Baggies well in with a shot of securing a play-off place, Shilen Patel reached into his wallet and handed McInnes a rather tasty £7m to spend on new players. Pockets weighed down with cash, the new manager made a beeline for AEK Athens midfielder Roberto Pereyra, who joined in a £625k deal despite having only moved to Greece on a free transfer last summer.

The veteran earned 19 caps for Argentina earlier on in his career, and enjoyed spells with Udinese, Juventus and Watford. He was part of the Hornets side that reached the FA Cup final back in 2019, only to get thrashed 6-0 at Wembley by a rampant Manchester City.

McInnes wasted no time in snapping up his second signing just days later, splashing £235k on 35-year-old Japanese goalkeeper Shuichi Gonda. A perplexing move to say the least, the 38-cap international did at least add a further option between the sticks for the Baggies.

Branded Lille's 'Swiss Army knife', Gabriel Gudmundsson joined from the Ligue 1 side for a £1m fee. Capable of playing anywhere on the left flank, the Sweden international, son of former Blackburn Rovers man Niklas, was another intriguing bit of business from the Baggies.

It was a Deadline Day to remember for West Brom, who splashed the cash with gusto to bring in three new signings. First through the doors was Matt Clarke, who previously played for the Baggies on loan. He arrived from Middesbrough for a fee of £2m. A further £1.5m was then spent to bring in England U21 defender Josh Wilson-Esbrand, a former Coventry City loan star, in from Manchester City.

A dramatic late turn of events saw Liverpool recall defender Nathaniel Phillips from his temporary spell with Derby County, allowing West Brom to complete a £1.5m permanent move for the loan journeyman.

Which players did West Brom sell?

That £7m dished out by the chairman? It all suddenly makes sense. Like a despicable Ghost of Christmas Past, Corberan lured Dike over to join him in Valencia for a £8m fee, despite his recent injury woes.

On top of that, West Brom stalwart Semi Ajayi also set sail for the Spanish east coast, joining Valencia on a loan deal with an obligation to buy. Other than that, it was a relatively quiet month of outgoings for the Baggies, who focused on strengthening their squad ahead of the relentless churn of Championship fixtures towards the business end of the season.

Unfortunately for West Brom, this squad upheaval didn't exactly pay off - McInnes’ side gradually sank down the Championship table, finishing the season well off the play-off spotys down in 14th place. We ran the simulation a little longer, and made the dispiriting discovery that the club didn't return to the Premier League until 2032, led into the promised lands by Jake Livermore.

So, there we have it - Football Manager has spoken. In reality, it's obvious that the chances of any one of these predictions coming to pass are slim to say the least. That said, we'll keep our fingers crossed for the dramatic arrival of Shuichi Gonda later this month.