West Brom and Birmingham City could sign the EFL’s new Matheus Pereira for £3m

West Bromwich Albion ended the 2025/26 Championship campaign on a bit of a low as they were beaten by already-relegated Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.

The Baggies gave the Owls 22% of their points (4/18) with a 0-0 draw and a 2-1 defeat this season, helping their opponents to finish on exactly zero points after an 18-point deduction.

Losing to a team that started the day on negative points was not an ideal start to James Morrison’s first game as the permanent head coach at The Hawthorns, after he was unveiled earlier in the week.

The Scottish boss had led the team to an unbeaten run of ten matches in the Championship to guide the team clear of the relegation zone to land the job, before losing to the Owls.

Now, the attention will turn to Morrison’s first ever transfer window as a manager as the Baggies look to retool their squad for a promotion push next term.

What West Brom have said about the summer transfer window

Speaking to BBC Radio West Midlands, West Brom executive director Mark Miles recently revealed that the new head coach will be backed by the club in the summer window.

Miles claimed that the Baggies “can back the recruitment of players so we can have a competitive season next year” when asked about the summer.

It now remains to be seen exactly what kind of budget the board will provide for transfers, but the executive director has let supporters know that there will be work done to improve the squad.

Meanwhile, speaking after the loss on Saturday, Morrison said: “The summer is really important. A lot of hard work has had to go into it, a lot of organisation, so I’ll be crunching on that and continuing to work.”

Now, Albion could recruit the new head coach his own version of former Baggies star Matheus Pereira by dipping into the market to sign a reported target ahead of their Championship rivals.

West Brom could beat Birmingham to £3m signing

West Brom are reportedly one of a number of teams in the second tier who are interested in a deal to sign a player who was once part of the Albion academy.

At the end of March, SportsBoom reported that the Baggies, Birmingham City, Sheffield United, and Blackburn Rovers are all keeping tabs on Barnsley forward Reyes Cleary ahead of a swoop for his services in the summer window.

The report claimed that the League One outfit value the 22-year-old attacker at a fee of £3m, 12 months on from signing him on a free transfer from West Brom’s academy.

Cleary came up through the youth ranks with the club, scoring a whopping 57 goals in 68 U21 and U18 matches combined, but was only given seven first-team appearances to showcase his quality.

His lack of chances at senior level caused him to pursue a move to Barnsley last summer, and the young winger has excelled since making the switch to League One.

The English forward ended his first season with Barnsley with an exceptional return of five goals and 15 assists, which suggests that the Baggies could sign Morrison his own version of Matheus Pereira if the club can beat Birmingham and Sheffield United to his signature.

During his time at The Hawthorns, Matheus made a huge impact in the second tier. He scored eight goals and provided 16 assists in his first season with the club in the 2019/20 campaign, showing his ability to score and create goals on a regular basis.

Now, Cleary could follow in his footsteps because, like Matheus, the 22-year-old left winger is an incredibly creative forward who can also contribute with goals at a similar rate to the Brazilian, who helped the Baggies to promotion six years ago.

West Brom made a colossal error when they allowed the academy graduate to join Barnsley last summer, given that they now want to bring him back, but they can avenge that mistake by beating Birmingham to his signature in a £3m deal.

If the Baggies are serious about backing their new head coach in the upcoming summer transfer window, Cleary is one of the first players who should be brought through the door to bolster the squad.