West Bromwich Albion officially confirmed the signing of French defender Nolan Galves on a permanent deal from Rodez to bolster their defensive options on Tuesday.
The 23-year-old talent has joined to become James Morrison’s starting right-back option for the Championship campaign after Danny Imray returned to Crystal Palace at the end of last season.
Imray was looked at by the Baggies as a possible permanent signing in the summer to return to The Hawthorns, but they were priced out of a move for his services.
The English full-back is now on his way to Championship rivals Wrexham for a fee of £5m, whilst West Brom have already moved to sign Galves in his position.
Why Galves is more exciting than Imray
Signing the French star is an even more exciting deal than signing Imray on a permanent basis would have been, as he has the potential to offer more to the team from an attacking perspective.
The Palace loanee produced one goal and two assists in 16 appearances in the Championship for the Baggies in the second half of last season, which was a solid return for a full-back.
|
25/26 Ligue 2 |
Galves |
|---|---|
|
Appearances |
32 |
|
Key passes per game |
1.6 |
|
xA |
4.60 |
|
Big chances created |
10 |
|
Assists |
7 |
|
Successful dribbles per game |
0.8 |
Galves, though, racked up seven assists and created ten ‘big chances’ for Rodez in Ligue 2, which suggests that he has the quality to create even more chances for his Baggies teammates than Imray would have.
He could offer more support to the attack by providing quality crosses for the likes of Aune Heggebo and Barney Stewart to attack, if he can adapt to the Championship.
Galves is, therefore, an even more exciting talent than Imray, due to his attacking potential, and could be a better fit for the team, after they only scored 48 goals in 46 matches in the league last term.
West Brom in talks to sign more exciting talent than Imray
Whilst the Frenchman is already a better signing than Imray, the club are also looking at a domestic player who would be more exciting than the Palace prospect.
West Brom page EyaWeGew, collaborating with West Brom Xtra, reports that the club are in ongoing talks with Southampton over a deal to sign Cameron Archer this summer.
Their initial coverage of the pursuit claimed that the Baggies were hoping to sign the English marksman for a fee of up to £5m, with £3m initially.
This latest update, though, states that there is a bridge between their valuation and Southampton’s valuation, which means that they may have to go beyond £5m if they want to bring him to The Hawthorns.
Middlesbrough, who previously had him on loan on Teeside, have been urged to pursue a reunion with the attacker, but the Baggies must move quickly to ensure that they do not have a chance to do so.
If the Baggies are going to commit £5m or more to signing a domestic player this window, it should be Archer rather than the £5m-rated Imray, as he would be a better and more exciting addition.
West Brom, as aforementioned, were goal-shy in the Championship last season and adding a player like the English striker to their squad would go a way towards building a more effective attacking unit.
|
25/26 Championship |
Archer per 90 |
Rank vs STs |
|---|---|---|
|
Shots |
2.70 |
Top 21% |
|
Shots on target |
1.08 |
Top 30% |
|
xG |
0.50 |
Top 15% |
|
Goals |
0.36 |
Top 35% |
|
xA |
0.14 |
Top 4% |
|
Assists |
0.27 |
Top 8% |
Archer only scored four goals in 30 appearances for the Saints in the league last season, but he only started 11 of those matches and his underlying numbers suggest that he has the potential to thrive with more minutes.
He was behind Cyle Larin and Ross Stewart in the pecking order at St. Mary’s, which meant that he did not get as many starts as he would have wanted, yet the forward was still able to rack up 0.64 xG and xA combined per 90.
Archer had played the previous two seasons in the Premier League with Southampton and Sheffield United, who were both relegated from the division, and only scored six goals in that time.
Prior to that, though, the 24-year-old marksman scored 11 goals in 20 matches as a regular starter on loan at Middlesbrough in the second half of the 2022/23 campaign in the Championship.
The Englishman is capable of being a prolific and reliable goalscorer in the second tier, as shown by his statistics in limited game time for Southampton and his form for Boro, which is why he would be such an exciting signing for the Baggies.
He would be more impactful to the team from an attacking perspective and excite the supporters more than Imray would have done, and it is now down to the board to get a deal over the line in the coming days.
