Exclusive: Sky Sports pundit makes Adam Armstrong transfer claim after West Brom struggles | OneFootball

Armstrong's arrival at The Hawthorns failed to push the Baggies into the play-offs, but could a renaissance with the Saints be in his future?

The 2025-26 season promises to be an exciting one for West Brom if they make the right managerial appointment, and there could be plenty of transfer activity to come at The Hawthorns.

Tony Mowbray failed to get the Baggies into the Championship play-offs in his second stint in charge, and somewhat regrettably, the decision was made by owner Shilen Patel to go in a different direction prior to the end of the 2024-25 season.

The process to appoint Mowbray's replacement is still ongoing, but with John Swift, Semi Ajayi and Grady Diangana all departing the club at the end of their contracts this summer, there is plenty of room for a rebuild, and that's not even taking into consideration the likes of Tom Fellows and Josh Maja will almost certainly be courted by top flight clubs.

West Brom of course couldn't crack the top six of England's second tier this past season, although they tried their best in January to add more goals to their ranks with the loan signing of Southampton's Adam Armstrong - a past favourite of Mowbray's from Coventry City and Blackburn Rovers.

Don Goodman reacts to potential West Brom, Adam Armstrong transfer conundrum

Unfortunately though, Armstrong could not replicate the form that saw him be a huge part of the Saints' own promotion in 2023-24, scoring the winner against Leeds United in the play-off final as part of a campaign that saw him find the back of the net 24 times in the Championship (including his three in the play-offs), as well as notching 13 assists.

A scorer of just three goals in 16 West Brom appearances, Armstrong was somewhat of a bitter disappointment in-front of goal compared to his previous campaign at the level, and based on that, Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman isn't convinced that a return to Albion would be the best move for Armstrong and West Brom as a club, with another prolific season at Southampton perhaps on the agenda after his 2023-24 exploits.

"It's a difficult one really for West Brom in regards to Adam Armstrong," Goodman said whilst speaking exclusively to Football League World.

"I think everyone expected him to do maybe a bit better than he did, so I don't think they saw the best version of him, but also, maybe West Brom didn't play or weren't playing in a way that suits him to get the best out of him, because at Championship level, he has proven many, many times before that he will score goals with the right service.

"So, still only 28 so in his prime, but it's a difficult conundrum because as I said, I don't think West Brom saw the best version of Adam Armstrong, and maybe with Southampton being back in the Championship, maybe they'll want to use his services this season.

"It's all a little bit up in the air because you're talking about two clubs who haven't got a head coach yet."

Adam Armstrong could thrive back at Southampton in the Championship next season

Many expected Armstrong to be the man to fire West Brom into the play-offs when he arrived in January, with a big Josh Maja-shaped hole to be filled after his injury.

For whatever reason though, Armstrong didn't really fire for the Midlands outfit, but we've seen over the course of several seasons that he is a top Championship marksman when he's on-song.

With Southampton returning to the Championship though, a chance could open up for the 28-year-old, especially with the futures of players like Tyler Dibling being in question - Armstrong played off the right flank multiple times under Russell Martin in their promotion-winning season, and that could be somewhere he slots in depending on what transfer business is done.