"Ambitious" - West Brom urged to join Leeds, Burnley and Sheffield United in race for ex-Coventry City man | OneFootball

FLW's West Brom fan pundit would like to see the Baggies sign former Coventry City midfielder Callum O'Hare.

This article is part of Football League World’s 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

West Bromwich Albion will be hoping to challenge for promotion from the Championship once again next season.

The Baggies enjoyed an excellent campaign last season as they finished fifth in the table, but they suffered heartbreak as they were beaten by Southampton in the play-off semi-finals.

There were fears that Albion could lose head coach Carlos Corberan after he was linked with Leicester City and Burnley, but he looks set to remain at The Hawthorns, and supporters will be expecting another promotion push under the Spaniard's guidance.

The Baggies have brought in three new signings so far this summer, with Ousmane Diakite, Torbjorn Heggem and Joe Wildsmith arriving at the club, and there is likely to be more to come before the end of the transfer window.

There have also been a number of departures, including the likes of Martin Kelly, Eric Pieters, Zac Ashworth, Nathaniel Chalobah, Yann M'Vila, Matt Phillips, Adam Reach and Jovan Malcolm, while Josh Griffiths has joined Bristol Rovers on loan.

West Brom fan pundit urges Callum O'Hare move

FLW's West Brom fan pundit Matt Smith would like to see the Baggies sign former Coventry City midfielder Callum O'Hare this summer.

O'Hare played a key role for the Sky Blues last season, but he is now a free agent after turning down the offer of a new contract at the CBS Arena.

The 26-year-old has been linked with Leeds United, Southampton, Burnley, Sheffield United and Celtic in recent weeks, and while he admits it would be an ambitious move, Matt urged Albion to join the race for his signature.

"It might be ambitious, but the free agent I'd like Albion to sign would be Callum O'Hare from Coventry," Matt said.

"I think he's proven himself at Championship level, he's still young and he'd have resale value.

"With Albion losing Phillips, Johnston and Weimann, and with Diangana being injured now, I think goals are needed in the team, and he'd provide that in abundance.

"The only risk would be whether he could stay fit, but that might work in Albion's favour as it might be a reason why he wouldn't get a Premier League move. "He's played all of his football in the Midlands as well at his permanent clubs, and that could be another significant factor.

"So it's probably not beyond the realms of possibility, although you'd imagine he'll get a Premier League move, and I'd suggest it's unlikely it would be something that we could afford to do."

Callum O'Hare would be an ideal signing for West Brom

The Baggies would face strong competition for O'Hare, but there is no doubt that the midfielder would be an excellent signing for the club.

As Matt says, Albion have lost a lot of creativity from their side with the departures of Phillips, Johnston and Weimann, and their attacking options could be depleted further if John Swift is sold, so recruiting a player of O'Hare's quality would solve a lot of their problems.

O'Hare starred for Coventry last season after returning from a long-term knee injury, and he has arguably earned the right to make a move to the Premier League this summer, but it is possible one of the Championship promotion hopefuls could convince him to remain in the second tier.

The Baggies would be able to offer O'Hare a more attractive financial package following their takeover by Shilen Patel, but it may still be difficult for them to compete with the likes of Leeds, Burnley and Sheffield United, and a move to The Hawthorns looks unlikely.