West Bromwich Albion's James Morrison Hopeful for More Signings

West Bromwich Albion boss James Morrison says he is “hopeful” of adding more signings before the transfer window closes, with a deal for Manchester United midfielder Toby Collyer edging towards completion.

The Championship club are in advanced talks with United over bringing Collyer back to The Hawthorns after his loan spell in the first half of last season. This time, it is a permanent move on the table, with the fee understood to be worth up to £7.6m.

If it gets done, it will be a statement piece of business for a side that has already hit the ground running.

Tunde offers new dimension

While Collyer’s return moves closer, Morrison has been getting his first proper look at new arrival Kareem Tunde, the Spanish winger who joined from Levante this week.

“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 the eighth new face through the door this summer, but Morrison is not treating that as a full stop.

“I am hopeful,” he said when asked about further additions 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.”

Strong start, tougher tests

West Brom’s early business is already feeding into performances. Morrison’s side have taken maximum points from their first two league games, setting an early benchmark in a gruelling Championship campaign.

Now comes a fixture that means more to the head coach than most: Middlesbrough away on Saturday, at the club where he grew up and began his career.

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

New signings are arriving, old ties are being revisited, and the early-season bar has been raised. The question now is whether Morrison’s rebuilt squad can keep clearing it as the stakes rise.