West Brom's methodical transfer rebuild takes shape

Sam Iling-Junior was one of nine new arrivals at The Hawthorns this summer

When Carlos Corberan's West Brom lost in the Championship play-off semi-final to Southampton in May last year, sporting director Andrew Nestor had in his mind not only who needed to move on, but also who they needed to recruit over the course of the next three transfer windows.

The first did contain more misses than hits, however the departure of 11 senior players that summer created the need to fill the squad with bodies for pre-season, hence the arrivals of Gianluca Frabotta and Devante Cole.

Loan signings Uros Racic and Lewis Dobbin also failed to impress. That quartet amassed just 10 league starts between them - nine belonged to Serbian midfielder Raci - and all have left.

The hit of last summer was clearly Torbjorn Heggem. The Norwegian defender was signed for under £600,000, won Albion's player of the year and was sold last month to Italian side Bologna for around £9m.

A phenomenal example of owners Bilkul finding a hidden gem for a low fee, on reasonable wages and selling for a huge profit.

Head coach Ryan Mason was keen to point out recently that it is not the club's exact model, but it certainly helps with the current battle with profit and sustainability rules (PSR), which is not over but is hopefully in the rear-view mirror after the other big sale of Tom Fellows.

Albion didn't have a head coach when the January window opened but that didn't stop them signing Isaac Price.

The 21-year-old attacking midfielder has scored three goals in four league games this season and is already worth way more than the £2m they paid for him.

There are hopes that another January arrival Tammer Bany will fulfil his potential, but injuries have so far denied the young Dane the chance.

By the end of the month Tony Mowbray was in charge and used his contacts to bring Southampton striker Adam Armstrong in on loan to much excitement, but he did not live up to the hype.

Mowbray had already gone before the summer window opened but not before revealing in his final press conference that well-paid duo John Swift and Grady Diangana would be leaving. Semi Ajayi also departed and 34-year-old Kyle Bartley retired, but the purposeful refresh continued.

For the price of selling Heggem, the Baggies have brought in prime-aged trio Nat Phillips, Chris Mepham, and Krystian Bielek, as well as 23-year-old George Campbell and Chelsea youngster Alfie Gilchrist. Five defenders for the price of one, which is a phenomenal piece of business.

While prudent, Bilkul have shown they're not afraid to spend. More than £4.5m will be spread over a five-year contract for Aune Heggebo.

The Norwegian striker has only bagged one goal so far but with the way he shrugs off defenders, you can see why fans of his previous club SK Brann nicknamed him 'The Hulk'.

The Baggies have utilised the loan market again by signing Manchester United midfielder Toby Collyer and Samuel Illing-Junior from neighbours Aston Villa. Time will tell if these work out.

The club say the latter can play on both wings, so is seen as the replacement for Fellows, while Mikey Johnston can also operate on the right.

The sale of their homegrown winger was the biggest disappointment for fans, particularly the fee of £10m, which many considered to be too low.

The Baggies did negotiate 20% sell-on clauses for him and another academy product Caleb Taylor, who moved to Millwall for £2.5m, so that will hopefully generate more money in the future.

Darnell Furlong's departure caused less debate. The right-back was Albion's longest-serving player and wore the captain's armband for the first three league games of the season but at 29 and on decent wages, a £4m sale to Ipswich was greeted positively.

Fifteen months ago, there were 11 players aged 30 or over in the squad but now just three remain: club captain Jed Wallace, vice skipper Alex Mowatt and the ninth and final signing of this summer, loanee left-back Charlie Taylor from Southampton, where ironically this rebuild began.

The work is not over, and the squad will continue to evolve but the Baggies are in a much better place off the field thanks to what's been done so far and the hope is they will prosper on it under Mason, who has made a promising start.