West Brom owe Middlesbrough for allowing them to seal £1.5m transfer masterstroke | OneFootball

The Baggies secured one of their best-ever bargain buys when they picked up James Morrison from Boro.

Over the last two decades, West Brom have been fighting either towards the top end of the Championship or battling for safety in the Premier League.

To achieve this, the Black Country outfit needed many top-class players to don the famous blue and white stripes.

Over that time, Albion have been very shrewd in previous transfer markets to pick up quality first-team figures for low fees.

One player who fits very much into that category is James Morrison, who arrived from Middlesbrough for a reported £1.5 million fee in the summer of 2007.

Morrison would turn out to be an excellent addition, providing incredible longevity at The Hawthorns and being a key figure in Albion’s promotion to the top-flight and their eventual eight-year stay from 2010 through to 2018.

Albion will struggle to recruit a more complete player for such a minimal price, with Morrison creating many moments that Baggies fans will always have etched in their memories.

James Morrison’s impact at West Brom

Since James Morrison arrived at West Brom, he would remain at The Hawthorns all the way up until his retirement in 2019.

During his fabulous 12-year spell, Morrison amassed an impressive 341 appearances for Albion, with his longevity matching the creative quality he provided on the pitch.

Upon joining, Morrison would make an immediate impact in the West Midlands, making 35 appearances in the second-tier as Albion lifted the Championship title under Tony Mowbray.

The former Boro man then went on to make 30 Premier League outings the following campaign, scoring three goals as well as providing four assists, but it was not enough to prevent immediate relegation back down to the Championship.

Morrison would register a second promotion with the club in 2010 under the guidance of Roberto Di Matteo, but the Scotsman would play more of a bit-part role that term, featuring just 11 times.

From the second promotion, Albion would undergo their eight-year stint in the top-flight, and Morrison regularly exceeded 30 Premier League appearances per season, while his most productive campaigns came in 2012 and 2013, as he scored five goals and recorded five assists in both terms.

The Baggies would go on to miss the midfielder as they suffered relegation in 2018, with an Achilles tendon injury resulting in a lack of experience to dig themselves out of the situation they were in at the time.

The now 39-year-old featured 19 times for the Baggies the following season in the Championship, helping them secure a play-off place before eventually hanging up his boots after their semi-final defeat to Aston Villa on penalties.

In total, Morrison tallied up 39 goals and 34 assists from 341 games in an Albion shirt, with such a superb figure significantly exceeding the return from such a small investment.

For just £1.5 million, James Morrison has to go down as one of West Brom’s best-ever bargain buys, with the midfielder transforming himself into a modern-day hero at The Hawthorns.

Winning two promotions and becoming a reliable and dependable option at Premier League level, the Black Country outfit couldn’t have hoped for a more influential player at such a low cost, and it is difficult to see how the club will replicate such a brilliant deal again in the future.

For Middlesbrough, they will look back on sanctioning that deal with deep regret. Morrison was beginning to showcase his talents at the age of 21 while at the Riverside Stadium, and if more patience was shown to allow him to make further strides, then he could have had an even bigger impact on their Premier League journey - potentially preventing their relegation to the second-tier in the 2008/09 season.

The Baggies won’t show much empathy though, with the club getting so many years of loyalty, commitment and quality from Morrison in a West Brom shirt from Boro’s blunder.