West Bromwich Albion manager Steve Bruce has shared an update regarding his and the club's aims surrounding the possibility of some new players joining the Baggies before the summer transfer window closes.
What's the news?
Speaking after seeing his side rescue a 1-1 draw in their first games of the season against Middlesbrough (via Express & Star), Bruce had this to say on the matter.
He said: "We’ve got to improve, I know we’ve improved with [Daryl] Dike, Okay [Yokuslu] and the two [John] Swift and [Jed] Wallace, that’s improved us. If we can do a couple more then I’ll try my utmost."
As Bruce mentioned, the Midlands club have secured free transfers for Okay Yokuslu, Jed Wallace and John Swift this summer, in addition to turning Jayson Molumby's loan deal into a permanent one.
As for Daryl Dike, even though he joined the club back in the previous January transfer window, he only made two appearances before a hamstring injury brought a premature end to his first period at the Hawthorns, which could be why Bruce sees him as being almost like a new signing for the team.
Two of their new recruits managed to hit the ground running on their league debuts as Wallace assisted Swift for the Baggies' equalising goal against Middlesbrough, which eventually stopped West Brom from picking up an opening day defeat.
Bruce would surely be thrilled
If Bruce can bring a couple more new faces to the Hawthorns before the window closes, he would surely be thrilled as it could leave them in a better position to be promoted next year.
One area they could look to strengthen is in defence with the Baggies not adding any defenders to their squad despite seeing Cedric Kipre leave on loan.
Additionally, they could look to strengthen between the sticks with the Midlands club seeing Sam Johnstone bring an end to his time at the Hawthorns earlier in the window, leaving only the likes of David Button and Alex Palmer as viable options. Considering how good Johnstone was, improvements in that third of the pitch are clearly needed.
West Brom have already added plenty to their forward ranks and as Bruce suggests, the likes of Dike and Wallace have given plenty of extra quality to their squad.
Now, if the manager could equip his team with better defensive cover behind them, he would surely be thrilled as the chance of them earning a place back in the promised land of the Premier League becomes greater.
Moving forward, if Bruce can keep his side focused on winning games for the time being and still manage to orchestrate some extra deals behind the scenes, this could see West Brom have a solid end to what has been a productive summer window.