New faces for the new season | OneFootball

After the disappointment of play-off defeat at Southampton, there was plenty of optimism for the future of West Bromwich Albion under new ownership but the harsh realities of the club’s financial situation have forced a revolution within the playing squad which will at least dampen expectations for the season ahead.

Some senior players were out of contract and there was an expectation that some would leave with a need to reduce the wage bill. Matt Phillips was the first of the senior players to confirm his departure from the club after an excellent eight years at the Hawthorns and he will line up against the Baggies in a couple of months’ time having signed for Oxford United. Kyle Bartley, Cédric Kipré and Alex Mowatt were all offered new deals, presumably on terms more suited to Albion’s current financial situation, and both Bartley and Mowatt took up the opportunity to stay at the Hawthorns. Last season’s Player of the Year Kipré, however, opted to return to France and signed for Ligue 1 club, Reims.

Adam Reach, Nathaniel Chalobah, Erik Pieters, Yann M’Vila and Martin Kelly were all released at the end of their contracts with loan players Andi Weimann, Mikey Johnston, Pipa and Callum Marshall returning to their parent clubs. That made eleven departures from the senior squad before any under contract players were considered.

In the last few weeks, the club’s need to raise funds has become even more obvious as offers have been accepted for the transfer of a number of players still under contract. It was no surprise that Okay Yokuşlu was allowed to leave – while he had been an excellent performer for much of the season, I feel that he struggled towards the end of a 46-game season and he returned to one of his former clubs, Tranbzonspor, in Turkey for an undisclosed fee. More of a surprise were the departures of Conor Townsend and Brandon Thomas-Asante who both left for undisclosed fees to Ipswich Town and Coventry City respectively.

That left the senior squad 14 down on last season and, so far, Albion have welcomed seven new faces with a few more weeks left before the closure of the transfer window. First through the door was Malian defensive midfielder Ousmane Diakité who joined on a free transfer from Austrian club TSV Hartberg. Diakité, who turned 24 in late July, is a combative midfielder who could suit Championship football. A few days later, Norwegian defender, Torbjørn Heggem, joined for an undisclosed fee from Swedish side, Brommapojkarna. The 25-year-old can play either as a left-sided centre back or a left back.

With Josh Griffiths going out on loan to Bristol Rovers, Albion were in need of another goalkeeper and 28-year-old Joe Wildsmith joined on a free transfer from Debry County having helped the Rams return to the Championship as runners-up in League One. Carlos Corberán obviously felt in need of some experienced cover in the back line and the arrival of Paddy McNair was something of a surprise. He left Middlesbrough at the end of his contract in the summer and signed for MLS outfit, San Diego, but immediately joined Albion on loan ahead of the start of the next MLS season in January.

With Daryl Dike still a few months away, Albion were already in need of another striker before the departure of BTA. One has been secured in the shape of Devante Cole who arrived on a free transfer after two relatively successful seasons in League One with Barnsley. At 29, he has plenty of experience but has been something of a journeyman and has never looked like emulating the success of his father, Andy.

And on Tuesday, two more arrived ahead of the season with winger, Lewis Dobbin, on loan from Aston Villa and Italian left back, Gianluca Frabotta from Juventus. I would expect a few more to come in before the window closes, and I wouldn’t rule out further departures should appropriate bids come in.

It could be something of a shaky start to the campaign as the new faces bed in but, while elements of the squad shake-up will have been unwelcome if necessary, we still have a wonderful head coach in charge of our team and we can trust in him to get the best out of what he has at his disposal.

Below is a summary of the careers of our new arrivals. With luck, maybe the club have unearthed one or two gems in the mould of Youssouf Mulumbu or Jonas Olsson who will go on to become club legends.

Ousmane Diakité

Born: 25th July 2000 (age 24), MaliSigned: 27th June 2024, free transferFrom: TSV Hartberg

Born in Mali in 2000, Diakité’s first club was Yeelen Olympique in the Malian capital, Bamako, but he was spotted by the scouts for Austrian club, RB Salzburg, and moved to Europe in the summer of 2018.

While he never made an appearance for the Austrian giants, he was loaned out to three different clubs while there. The first was Austrian second division side, Liefering, who are also based in the city of Salzburg. He made his bow in senior football against SV Horn in July 2018 and perhaps a little youthful over-enthusiasm was on show as he received a second yellow card in stoppage time to earn the first red card of his career. He scored his first senior goal in October of that year in a 2-1 home defeat by SV Leafnitz and ended his first season with 19 appearances.

The following season, Diakité was out on loan once again, this time in the Austrian Bundesliga, their top division, at Rheindorf Altach in western Austria. He scored on his debut for his new club in a 6-1 Austrian Cup victory over FC Kufstein but suffered a knee injury in October that would keep him sidelined for the remainder of that COVID-hit season. He would not return to senior action until the beginning of the 2021-22 season when he was sent out on loan to St Gallen in Switzerland. He was a regular starter for the Swiss Super League side but his time there was cut short by another knee injury and he returned to Salzburg in January 2022 to complete his rehabilitation.

Twelve months later, he finally left Red Bull Salzburg permanently having never made a first team appearance, joining fellow Austrian Bundesliga side, TSV Hartberg. Since joining the Styrian club, he has barely missed a game with his injury problems hopefully behind him. He missed one match with a foot injury in February this year, but his only other absences have been due to suspensions having received two red cards in his time there. 34 of his 49 appearances for Hartberg have been as a starter and he was in the first eleven for 23 of their 32 Bundesliga matches last season.

Diakité is yet to receive a senior call up for Mali but he was part of the squad that competed in the U20 World Cup in Poland in 2019. Hi was in the team that won a penalty shoot-out against an Argentina side including Manchester City’s Atlético Madrid-bound star Julián Álvarez in the last sixteen before losing to Italy at the quarter-final stage, a match in which Diakité was unfortunately sent off in the first half!

Torbjørn Heggem

Born: 12th January 1999 (age 25), Trondheim, NorwaySigned: 4th July 2024, undisclosed feeFrom: Brommapojkarna

Born in Trondheim on the northwest coast of Norway, Torbjørn Heggem’s early footballing steps were with his local club, Astor, but he was soon picked up by the reigning champions of Norwegian football, Rosenborg, also based in Trondheim, joining them at the age of 15.

Although he played for the fourth tier second string side for Rosenborg, he never made a league appearance for the senior team, although his first taste of senior football was as a last minute substitute in Rosenborg’s Norwegian Super Cup victory over Lillestrøm in April 2018.

He went on loan to Ranheim, another Trondheim club, for the 2019 season who were then in Norway’s top flight, the Eliteserien. Unfortunately, the club were relegated at the end of the campaign, and he played against his parent club in a 3-2 defeat on the final day of the season that confirmed their return to the second tier. He had become a regular centre-back and remained on loan at Ranheim for the following season, although he was used predominantly at left back for that second campaign as his club narrowly missed out on promotion back to the Eliteserien.

After making just that one brief substitute appearance for Rosenborg, in January 2021, Heggem moved to Sandnes, a second tier club based in the south of the country. He spent two seasons there and started all but one of their games during his time there, coming off the bench for their first round cup tie against Brodd in July 2021. He was used mostly as a centre back although played several games at left back and even a couple on the left side of midfield!

In February 2023, Heggem moved out of his native Norway for the first time to join Swedish top-flight side, Brommapojkarna, based in Bromma in western Stockholm. He soon became a regular starter under boss, former Villa defender Olof Mellburg, switching between left back and centre back as he seems to have done throughout his career. He made just under 50 appearances in his eighteen months there and signed off with his second goal for the club in a 2-2 draw with Malmö in June.

Joe Wildsmith

Born: 28th December 1995 (age 28), SheffieldSigned: 10th July 2024, free transferFrom: Derby County

Joe Wildsmith was born in Sheffield and joined Sheffield Wednesday as a schoolboy signing professional terms in November 2013 after impressing in the youth teams. His first exposure to senior football was in a loan spell at Conference Premier side, Alfreton Town, making his debut in a 3-2 defeat at Edgar Street to Hereford Town in April 2014.

His first involvement for Wednesday’s senior team was as an unused substitute in their home match against Birmingham City in January 2015, the first of four inclusions in the first team squad that season either side of a loan spell at League One Barnsley – he made is Football League debut in their match away to Bristol City on March 2015, a 2-2 draw, with his second appearance coming in a 2-0 defeat to Sheffield United a week later.

His debut for the Owls came in a 4-1 win over Mansfield in the EFL Cup in August of that year, before he came off the bench to replace Kieren Westwood a few days later in Wednesday’s Championship match at Ipswich Town. With Westwood retaining the number one spot and a back injury interrupting his season, Wildsmith ended the 2015-16 season with 14 appearances, 9 of which were in the Championship.

It wasn’t until the 2017/18 season that he was able to force a spell as the first choice ‘keeper at Hillsborough when injury to Westwood saw him given an opportunity for a spell in the side playing 22 successive Championship games until Jos Luhukay opted for Cameron Dawson for the final few matches of that season and installed him as his new number one at the beginning of the 2018/19 campaign. He endured a difficult couple of seasons suffering injury and unable to displace Dawson as the number one ‘keeper and made just twelve appearances, the majority coming during Project Restart in the summer of 2020.

He was used in about half of the games in the following season with Dawson and a fit-again Westwood challenging for top spot but, after Wednesday were relegated to League One in the summer of 2021, he found himself second choice again with new Owls boss, our very own Darren Moore, preferring loan signing Bailey Peacock-Farrell as his first choice. Wildsmith was offered a new contract at the end of the season but opted to make the move to Derby County instead.

Other than a spell at the beginning of 2024 when Josh Vickers was given half a dozen games in goal, Wildsmith was the first choice ‘keeper for the Rams for all of his two seasons at Pride Park finishing his time at the club just short of a century of appearances. He enjoyed substantial success with Derby including a pair of penalty saves in successive games in October 2022 and he kept a clean sheet at Anfield in the EFL Cup in November that year having kept Albion out in the previous round.

His run of successive league minutes for County was brought to an end when he was sent off for handling outside the area against Bolton in September 2023, although the card was overturned on appeal after video evidence showed he had chested the ball instead. He was eventually dropped after a dip in form but re-instated after Vickers was injured and kept his spot for the remainder of the season helping the Rams to secure automatic promotion back to the Championship.

Paddy McNair

Born: 27th April 1995 (age 29), Ballyclare, Northern IrelandSigned: 25th July 2024, loanFrom: San Diego

Experienced centre-back, Paddy McNair, joined on loan from MLS side, San Diego, having just transferred to the Californian club from Middlesbrough. With the MLS season not kicking off until January, the loan move works for both clubs and the player to keep him involved in football over the autumn.

McNair, born in Northern Ireland, is a graduate of the Manchester United academy and made his debut for the Red Devils as a starting centre-back in their 2-1 Premier League win over West Ham United in September 2014. He would go on to make 18 appearances for United that season, 14 of them in the starting eleven, including the 1-0 home defeat to the Baggies in May 2015. However, he found opportunities more limited the following season and added just nine more appearances.

In the summer of 2016, he was sold to Sunderland along with Donald Love for a joint fee of £5.5 million. He scored his first senior goals in a 2-1 League Cup win at QPR in September but, in November, McNair suffered a cruciate ligament injury that would keep him sidelined for almost a year during which time the Black Cats were relegated to the Championship. He returned to action in October 2017 and was used that season primarily as a defensive midfielder, a position in which he had started his youth career for Ballyclare Colts. He was in and out of the side under new manager Chris Coleman as the Wearsiders struggled in the second tier and they ultimately suffered a second successive relegation.

In the summer of 2018, the Ulsterman made the short move down the coast to Middlesbrough in a deal potentially worth upwards of £5 million to begin a successful six-year spell with the Smoggies. He made his debut as a defensive midfielder in Boro’s 3-0 home victory over Sheffield United but he found his opportunities limited in his first season at the Riverside and made just seven league starts. However, when Jonathan Woodgate replaced Tony Pulis as manager for the 2019/20 season, McNair found himself back in favour and was a near ever-present in the Boro’ side in that COVID-affected season being used mostly in midfield but also at centre back – his longest spell out of the side came as a result of a straight red card received in the Teessiders’ 3-1 defeat at Swansea in December 2019 that meant that he could enjoy Christmas off! By the end of the season, he had amassed 44 appearances and scored six goals.

He started all of Boro’s league games in the 2020-21 campaign and was named the club’s Player of the Season, predominantly playing as a centre back once again, and also made more than 40 league appearances in the following season. The arrival of Michael Carrick, a player with which McNair was compared by United youth coach Paul McGuinness, at the Riverside saw his involvement in the team become less assured although he has still made at least 25 appearances in each of the last two seasons. His contract ended in the summer and he opted to make the switch to California, with a brief sojourn to Smethwick, of course!

McNair has earned 69 caps for Northern Ireland having made his debut for the senior side in March 2015 against Scotland. He made just one appearance in a major tournament, starting the opening match in Euro 2016 against Poland, but he has been a regular starter in the last five years and first captained his national side against Switzerland in September 2021. He was also captain in his latest appearance, a 1-0 win in Scotland in March this year.

Devante Cole

Born: 10th May 1995 (age 29), Alderley EdgeSigned: 31st July 2024, free transferFrom: Barnsley

With a father as successful as Manchester United’s Champions League winner, Andy Cole, who scored an incredible 187 Premier League goals, Devante has had a lot to live up to. Despite starting in the academy of one of his father’s many former clubs, Manchester City, Devante has not yet played top flight football in what has become something of a nomadic career.

Like his father, Devante is a striker and made his professional debut on loan from City at Barnsley in January 2015 at the age of 19. He came off the bench in a League One fixture at Coventry City replacing Leroy Lita. He scored his first senior goal in his next match, once again coming off the bench for Lita to score the Tykes’ third in a 4-1 win over Gillingham. He ended a successful loan spell with seven goals in 23 appearances.

Returning to City in January 2015, he was sent out on loan again, this time to MK Dons, also in League One. Despite scoring twice on his first start for the Dons in a 5-0 win at Crewe, he found opportunities to play more difficult to come by and made only five starts before returning to the Etihad at the end of the season.

He was released by City that summer and signed a two-year deal with League One Bradford City. He scored on his debut for the Bantams, coming off the bench to net the only goal in their first victory of the season over Port Vale at Valley Parade. He had five goals in eight appearances by mid-October as Bradford climbed the table receiving fulsome praise from manager, Phil Parkinson. Despite that apparent success, he moved to League One rivals, Fleetwood Town, in January 2016 for an undisclosed fee. He struggled to get going at Highbury and didn’t score his first goal for the Fishermen until May in a 3-1 defeat at the Bescot Stadium. He scored again in the final game of the season but continued to find goals elusive through the next season, scoring just eight in all competitions.

In the 2017/18 campaign, Cole reached double figures in a season for the first time doing so before the end of the calendar year, form that earned him a move to Wigan Athletic in January 2018. Life at the DW Stadium proved difficult for Cole, however, and he made only six substitute appearances as the Latics strode the the League One title. While Wigan competed in the Championship the following season, Cole was sent out on loan to Burton Albion back in League One – he returned in January but failed to make it in a single Championship squad for Wigan in the remainder of the season.

Cole was sent back out on loan the following season moving north of the border to play for Premiership Motherwell. It was more successful than his time at the Pirelli Stadium, but he was back in Lancashire in January 2020 before making a permanent move to Doncaster Rovers, another League One side. After failing to make impact in the short time before COVID brought a premature end to League One football in March 2020, he was released and ended up returning to Motherwell.

Back at Fir Park, he rediscovered his scoring touch and scored 12 goals in 31 appearances for the Well. After one season in Scotland, he was back in England and re-signed for Barnsley who were by this time in the Championship. Rarely a regular starter in his first season back at Oakwell, he scored just one league goal, his only one to date in the Championship. The Tykes were relegated that season and back in League One, Cole became a regular starter once again and scored 33 league goals over the next two seasons starting more than 40 games in each campaign.

Lewis Dobbin

Born: 3rd January 2003 (age 21), Stoke-on-TrentSigned: 6th August 2024, season long loanFrom: Aston Villa

Born in the Potteries, Lewis Dobbin joined Everton at the age of 11 making his senior debut as a late substitute in the Toffees’ Premier League win over Norwich City in September 2021 at the age of 18. After a handful of appearances, he was sent out on loan to League One Derby County for the 2022/23 season making his debut in the Rams’ game at Charlton Athletic in August 2022.

He scored his first senior goal in an EFL Trophy match for Derby at Mansfield Town in October and ended a successful loan spell at Pride Park with five goals and six assists in 54 appearances over the season playing on either wing or as a second striker.

He returned to Goodison Park for last season and came off the bench against Chelsea in December last year to score Everton’s second goal in a 2-0 victory, his first for Everton. His only Premier League start came against Wolves in August 2023.

He moved to Aston Villa this summer with the Villains opting to send him out on loan straight away for what will be his first experience of Championship football.

Gianluca Frabotta

Born: 24th June 1999 (age 25), RomeSigned: 6th August 2024, undisclosed feeFrom: Juventus

Gianluca Frabotta became only the third Italian to sign for Albion joining Mario Bortolazzi and new Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca who both signed on at the Hawthorns in 1998. The left back has joined from Juventus, the club to which Maresca was sold in 2000, having spent a frustrating five years with the “Old Lady” with multiple loan spells and just a handful of senior appearances.

Born in Rome, Frabotta began his professional career with Bologna but first experienced senior football on loan at Serie C club, Renate, near the Swiss border. After half a season, he was then loaned to Pordenone, also in Serie C, located near Venice. He had only made 21 senior appearances when he was signed by Italian giants, Juventus, initially to play for their U23 team that also competes in Serie C.

After a successful season with the U23 team, he made his senior debut in Serie A in Juve’s 3-1 home defeat by Roma in what was the final game of the COVID-hit season on 1st August 2020. Frabotta started three of Juve’s first six games of the 2020/21 campaign in Serie A and also made his debut in the Champions League in a group match away to Ferencváros in the November of that year. His only goal for Juve came against SPAL in the Italian Cup in January 2021 and, after spending most of the time on the bench in the latter half of the season, he finished the campaign with 17 appearances in all competitions.

Frabotta was loaned out to Serie A club Hellas Verona for the 2021/22 season but spent most of the campaign sidelined through injury and managed only two substitute appearances towards the end of the season. For the following campaign, he was initially loaned to Lecce but the loan was switched to Frosinone early in the season after he failed to make an appearance for Lecce. Frosinone, a Serie B club near Frabotta’s home town of Rome, used him fairly regularly during the season and he ended the campaign having made 22 appearances in total and helped Frosinone to win the Serie B title.

Last season, he was still not in the picture at his parent club and he had two further loan spells, first at Bari and then at Cosenza, both in Serie B. At Cosenza, based in Calabria in the “toe” of Italy, Frabotta seemed to find his scoring touch from left back netting three times in his fifteen appearances.