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West Brom are preparing for a defining campaign under Ryan Mason, who begins his first full season in charge with a clear brief: stabilise the club and reignite their push towards the Premier League.
We spoke with Charlie Haffenden of BirminghamWorld, who shared insight on how West Brom are approaching this crucial summer—where reinforcements are most needed, what’s changing tactically, and how Mason is shaping the club’s ambitions ahead of a potentially transformative season.

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Transcript
00:00West Brom are preparing for a defining campaign under Ryan Mason
00:08who begins his first full season in charge with a clear brief
00:11stabilise the club and reignite their push towards the Premier League
00:16after seasons of near misses and inconsistency
00:19the pressure is on at the Hawthorns to build something sustainable and ambitious
00:24Mason has already made the move on the squad
00:28blending youth with experience and shifting the tactical approach
00:32to something more aggressive and possession focused
00:36the challenge now is to bring the quality to key areas while maintaining the core
00:41that pushed West Brom into the championship playoff picture last term
00:45with midfield control and attacking depth high on the agenda
00:49all eyes on how West Brom approach the transfer window
00:53and whether Mason can get his ideas across quickly
00:56in a fiercely competitive league
00:59we caught up with Charlie Haffenden of Birmingham World
01:02who shared insights on how West Brom are approaching this crucial summer
01:07where reinforcements are most needed and what's changing tactically
01:11as Mason shapes the club's ambitions ahead of a potentially transformative season
01:17So Charlie starting with West Bromwich Albion and obviously Ryan Mason
01:23appointed as the next manager
01:26a big statement I mean obviously he's a manager coming in
01:30and he's fresh ideas
01:32he's obviously got some fantastic experience in the top flight
01:35at the highest level
01:35you know he'd been tried to be poached before
01:38and he decided to stay on with Ange Postakar
01:40who obviously helped deliver that Europa League
01:43which was fantastic for them as a club
01:45I mean it all sort of makes sense you feel for all parties involved
01:49it gives him the chance
01:50it gives him a platform
01:51it gives West Brom maybe this ambition that they need to go on
01:55and have a bit of a fresh start maybe over the last couple of seasons
01:58obviously with Carlos Corbran's exit
02:00and then the return of Mowbray not quite working out
02:03and them falling short
02:04so just firstly your thoughts on Ryan Mason as manager
02:08and you know how are Albion fans feeling
02:11what's the feeling around the Hawthorns ahead of the new campaign?
02:14I think it's a feeling of excitement
02:17obviously it took so long to get the Tony Mowbray replacement in
02:20but I think it was a lot of patience and consideration
02:23even with Mowbray there was a lot of patience
02:25but they made the wrong decision ultimately
02:27and I think they wanted to make sure they made the right one this time around
02:29they knew that the playoffs were already kind of over for last season
02:33and I think if next season they don't get in the playoffs
02:36then this club could really just kind of be stalemated
02:39stagnated in the championship rather
02:42Ryan Mason he's not in a proper managerial role before
02:45and I think there are concerns over that
02:46however if you look at Chris Davies at Birmingham City
02:48also coming from Tottenham
02:50he's done so so well
02:52Ryan Mason as well very highly thought of
02:55amongst the Tottenham backroom staff
02:56Antiposti Koglu of course not at the club anymore
02:59but he really favoured having Mason amongst his coaching ranks
03:02of course he was the one who took interim charge of Spurs
03:05on a couple of occasions
03:06so there's obviously a lot of trust there
03:08is he ready for management it's difficult to say isn't it
03:11I think the jury will be out for quite a while
03:13but it's quite positive that he's got quite a few relationships at Tottenham
03:17potentially West Brom could take advantage of that in the transfer market
03:21the likes of Mikey Moore and Jamie Donnelly have already been linked for potential loan moves
03:25those would both be fantastic signings in my opinion
03:28for West Brom can really take them forward
03:30give them a bit of young energy into that team
03:32and I think just in terms of the squad overhaul
03:34it's likely to happen as well
03:36having someone like Mason in there who's quite raw
03:38he's still quite young
03:39seems to have a good tactical knowledge
03:41I know that managers aren't necessarily that involved in their recruitment at West Brom
03:45but I think they probably can tap into Mason's
03:48maybe not experience because he hasn't got that
03:51but he seems to have a decent mindset when it comes to it tactically
03:55not sure what the fee is exactly
03:57but it's likely to be pretty low
03:58so he only had a year left on his Liverpool contract
04:00and of course was only playing in the bottom end of the championship last season
04:03I think that's a decent addition
04:05they definitely will need to sign a new winger
04:07if it could be Mikey Moore on loan from Spurs
04:09I think that's probably the best option
04:10because it's low risk isn't it
04:12it's only a loan
04:13you're not spending a big transfer fee
04:14and then an attacking midfielder
04:16a bit more creativity in there
04:17but they might find that for a player
04:19who's already at the club
04:20Tami Abani who signed in the winter
04:23for £3 million
04:24didn't really get going because of fitness problems
04:26but with a proper pre-season under his belt
04:29he could have a good impact
04:30and he's supposed to be a very creative player
04:32Ryan Mason I think will have a little bit of money to spend this summer
04:35a little bit more than the likes of Mowbray and Corbran had in the past
04:38so yeah there could be quite a few exciting additions for West Brom
04:41and the team could look very different next season
04:43Thank you
04:49You
04:50You

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