Baggies arrive at 'Land of the Castles'
- Published
I've landed in rainy Austria where Albion are spending a week preparing for the new season.
Ryan Mason's squad arrived in the Burgenland region, close to the Hungarian border, at the weekend and I've even been beaten to the base by the Baggies' latest signing, Aune Heggebo.
Burgenland, by the way, translates as 'Land of the Castles' - and Norwegian striker Heggebo appears to be as imposing as a medieval structure. How he stands up against Championship defenders remains to be seen.
Despite acknowledging ongoing challenges with profit and sustainability rules, the club's owners Bilkul have shown their ambition by committing to spend a reported £4.75m to bring the 23-year-old in from SK Brann.
It's the highest transfer fee since they took over in February 2024.
Although it should be pointed out that because he's signed a five-year contract, the transfer fee can be spread over the course of that deal. That's smart business but it's still a significant outlay.
Mikey Johnston is also expected to arrive later than the rest of the squad after a sensational move to Brazilian side Flamengo collapsed almost as sensationally in the space of 48 hours.
What the winger will find when he arrives is a Uefa-approved training facility complete with a hotel and spa nestled among green fields in this small town.
For full disclosure, where I'm staying a short walk away isn't quite as luxurious but it does have a cafe attached to it with some lovely pastries, so I'm not complaining.
We are being allowed to watch a couple of training sessions while over here, so it will be interesting to see Ryan Mason's coaching methods up close as he embarks on his first senior head coach role.
The camp ends with a behind closed doors friendly against Dynamo Kiev on Friday, which we'll be reporting on and I'll also be recording several interviews with players throughout the week.
BBC Radio WM will have a special 'Albion In Austria' programme from 18:00 BST on Wednesday, which you can listen to on BBC Sounds.
