James Morrison Optimistic About New Signings for West Bromwich Albion

West Bromwich Albion boss James Morrison says he is “hopeful” of adding more faces before the transfer window closes, with the club on the brink of tying up a deal for Manchester United midfielder Toby Collyer.

Albion have been in negotiations with United to bring Collyer back to The Hawthorns after his loan spell in the first half of last season. Those talks are now close to a conclusion, with a permanent move expected to be worth up to £7.6m. It would be a significant outlay for a Championship side – and a clear statement that Morrison wants this bright start to the season to be more than a brief surge.

While Collyer edges nearer, another new arrival is already under Morrison’s microscope. Spanish winger Kareem Tunde joined from Levante this week and has immediately caught the head coach’s attention.

“It’s a big opportunity for him, coming to a new culture, still only being 21,” Morrison told BBC Radio WM. “He’s an exciting prospect and an exciting player, so we’re delighted to have him.

“It just gives us different options now and I felt like we’ve always missed that little bit in games where we could stretch our opposition and he’s got that pace and power that we’ve been looking for.”

Tunde becomes Albion’s eighth signing of the summer. Morrison, though, is not treating that as a finish line. With the deadline on 1 September looming, he wants more.

“I am hopeful,” he said. “There’s been a lot of hard work been going on behind the scenes. We have to do things a little bit differently, we have to be clever about it and I felt that we’ve been doing that because we’ve had a lot of signings.”

The recruitment drive is being built on a platform of early success. Albion have opened the Championship campaign with two wins from two, a start that has sharpened the mood around the club and given Morrison the freedom to fine-tune rather than rip up his squad.

Now comes a fixture that tugs at the emotions but tests the credentials. Last season’s beaten play-off finalists Middlesbrough await on Saturday, a trip that takes Morrison back to his hometown club and the place where his career began.

He knows the narrative. He is not interested in indulging it.

“I’ve been back many times and played, so I’m over that,” he said.

The first time he returned, the occasion got the better of him.

“I can remember my first one going back and I was all over the place, I was terrible. So I learnt from that experience.

“I think my last time there as a player, I ended up scoring and I still remember that feeling. So I’m really looking forward to the game, but also I know this is going to be one of the toughest away fixtures we’ll face.

“But they’ve [the Albion players] set a standard now and they can’t let it drop.”

A squad being reshaped, a manager going home, and an unbeaten start on the line: Morrison has his momentum. The question now is whether Albion’s new-look group can carry it through one of the sternest tests of their season.