West Brom chairman John Williams delighted with summer transfer business
Albion chairman John Williams has declared his delight at the club’s business during the summer transfer window.
But the Baggies chief admitted his attentions have already turned to the next one, following a window which saw the club sign six new players.
Writing in the Albion programme ahead of Saturday’s home game with West Ham, Williams said: “The general consensus must be that we enjoyed a good summer and a good window.
“Of course, there is never a moment for complacency.
“Always on our mind is the engineering of our squad - its average age, the balance, the players’ lengths of contract.
“All of these considerations are geared toward giving our head coach as many options as possible and I can honestly say that the moment this summer’s window closed, my thoughts immediately turned to the next one.”
Albion signed striker Jay Rodriguez from Southampton early in the summer and followed it with a capture of Egyptian international defender Ahmed Hegazi from Al Ahly.
But Williams admits the club then had to be patient in a market of rapidly spiralling fees, ahead of a strong final fortnight which saw Gareth Barry, Kieran Gibbs and Poland international Grzegorz Krychowiak arrive at The Hawthorns.
Albion also acquired young Chinese striker Yuning Zhang, who was then sent out on loan to Werder Bremen.
Williams said: “It was clear we were dealing with a market of extraordinary escalating costs which challenged what I felt was a competitive but of course not unlimited budget.
“We had to stay patient and calm and keep our business to ourselves.
“We have some fans who agitate to know what is going on but it is unreasonable to expect the club to conduct daily briefings.
“I was delighted the deals we went on to complete came in relatively under the radar.”
Albion claimed seven points from their opening three Premier League games before losing 3-1 at Brighton.
Williams added: “Last week’s disappointing result at Brighton was a sobering reminder you get nothing in this league for putting names on paper.
“I do not think this should deflect from a strong start from Tony and his team. Knowing Tony, I can guarantee he and his staff will be working tirelessly to gel all the new components.”
