West Brom's James Morrison Eyes Key Signing Before Transfer Deadline

West Brom boss James Morrison is pushing for at least one more key signing before the transfer window shuts – and the next arrival looks set to be a familiar face.

The Championship leaders are close to agreeing a deal worth up to £7.6m with Manchester United for midfielder Toby Collyer, who impressed on loan at The Hawthorns in the first half of last season. Talks have been ongoing for weeks; now West Brom are finally on the verge of getting their man back on a permanent basis.

Morrison has already overseen a busy summer, but his appetite for reinforcements has not dimmed.

“I am hopeful,” he told BBC Radio WM when asked about more business before the 1 September deadline. “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.”

Eight of them, to be precise – the latest being Spanish winger Kareem Tunde, signed from Levante this week and quickly thrown into Morrison’s plans.

For the head coach, Tunde brings a dimension his side have lacked.

“It's a big opportunity for him, coming to a new culture, still only being 21,” Morrison said. “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.”

That pace is designed to bolt onto a team already out of the blocks. West Brom have taken maximum points from their first two Championship fixtures, setting an early standard Morrison has no intention of letting slip.

The next examination is as personal as it is demanding. On Saturday, Albion travel to Middlesbrough – Morrison’s hometown club and the place where his professional career began.

There was a time when such a return would have knocked him off his stride.

“I've been back many times and played, so I'm over that,” he said. “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 set a standard now and they can't let it drop.”

A squad being reshaped, a former loanee set to come home, a daunting trip to the club that shaped their manager. West Brom have momentum. Morrison’s challenge now is to turn an excellent start into something far more enduring.