Following an extremely disappointing 2020/21 campaign which culminated in relegation from the Premier League earlier this year, it will be fascinating to see how West Bromwich Albion will fare in the Championship under the guidance of Valerien Ismael.
Having achieved a relative amount of success in this division during his brief spell in charge of Barnsley, the Frenchman will be quietly confident in his ability to provide the club's supporters with something to shout about at The Hawthorns in the coming months.
With his side set to head to the Vitality Stadium on Friday to face AFC Bournemouth, Ismael knows that a positive performance by West Brom in this clash could potentially set the tone for the rest of the season.
Having opted to swoop for Matt Clarke, Alex Mowatt and Adam Reach during the current transfer window, it will be intriguing to see whether the Baggies boss decides to hand this particular trio their competitive debuts against the Cherries.
Seemingly not content with these aforementioned arrivals, Ismael could be about to launch a move for a player who possesses a wealth of experience at Championship level if recent reports are anything to go by.
According to the Daily Mail, West Brom are considering a swoop for Derby County captain Tom Lawrence.
The winger netted three goals and provided one assist last season for the Rams as he struggled with injury.
However, any potential deal may depend on whether the Baggies are able to secure a sizeable fee for Matheus Pereira in the coming weeks.
The Brazilian, who has recently been linked with moves to West Ham United and Al Hilal, released a statement on Monday in which he publically announced his intention to leave.
West Brom could also step up their pursuit of Lawrence if they receive a suitable bid for Sam Johnstone this summer.
Whilst it is looking likely that Pereira will depart, the Baggies are currently trying to convince their first-choice goalkeeper to stay by negotiating a new contract.
It is understood that West Brom need to recuperate £15m in player sales in order to balance the books.
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Whilst losing either Pereira or Johnstone would be a blow, it could turn out to be a wise move to swoop for Lawrence as he knows exactly what it takes to deliver the goods at this level.
The winger has managed to provide 74 direct goal contributions in 226 Championship appearances during his career to date and is likely to line up for Derby in their clash with Huddersfield Town this weekend.
Capped on 23 occasions by Wales at international level, Lawrence may be tempted to join a West Brom side who will be looking to launch a sustained push for promotion next year.
Whilst it is safe to say that the winger struggled with consistency at times last season, he still managed to average a respectable WhoScored match rating of 6.72 in the second-tier.
By learning from the guidance of Ismael, there is no reason why Lawrence cannot emerge as a key player for West Brom if they opt to bring him to The Hawthorns.
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