FourFourTwo

FIVE-POINT PLAN

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1 FILL THE VOID UPFRONT

None of the club’s trio of rotating striking options were consistent­ly prolific last term. The last time the Baggies were promoted to the Premier League, in 2010, they managed to unearth Peter Odemwingie for a paltry £ 1.5m. He netted 15 league goals that season – they could do with finding a similarly fearsome frontman for a similarly small fee.

2 CHALLENGE THE NO. 1

Sam Johnstone splits opinion. Backers cite his agility and shot- stopping; dissenters point to late- season wobbles and a reluctance to dominate his area. Having invested time and money in the former Manchester United man, the Baggies will surely give Johnstone his top- flight chance, but – with respect to understudy Jonathan Bond – they must find a goalkeeper to truly rival him.

3 KEEP ON KEEPING ON

Not only did the Baggies top the Championsh­ip for goals scored in the final 15 minutes of matches last term, they didn’t lose a game after going ahead

and had the best record after conceding the first goal in a tie. Finishing games strongly would serve them well in the top flight.

4 PICK UP SMART LOANS

Matheus Pereira, Grady Diangana and Filip Krovinovic were key contributo­rs to the club’s promotion, while Callum Robinson scored and set up some vital goals in the second half of the campaign. Any season- long additions will need to have similar impacts. They’d be welcome in the engine room: though Romaine Sawyers and Jake Livermore have formed an excellent partnershi­p in midfield, the departures of Chris Brunt and Gareth Barry have left Bilic light on experience­d deputies.

5 MAKE TOUGH CALLS

Supporters love Hegazi’s uncompromi­sing defensive approach, but the statistics are less kind. The Egyptian played in 16 Championsh­ip matches; the Baggies lost six of them. In contrast, Bartley was on the losing side in four of 38 games. Hegazi’s poor positional sense and erratic ‘ tackle now, ask questions later’ approach may mean it’s time to cash in and reinvest in an upgrade.

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