West Bromwich Albion's James Morrison Hopeful for More Signings

West Bromwich Albion head coach James Morrison says he is “hopeful” of adding more new faces before the transfer window closes, with the club on the brink of re-signing Manchester United midfielder Toby Collyer.

Albion have been in talks with United over bringing Collyer back after his loan spell in the first half of last season and are now poised to complete a deal worth up to £7.6m. It would be a significant outlay for a Championship side, and another clear sign that Albion intend to turn a strong start into a serious promotion push.

While Collyer’s return edges closer, Morrison has already been running the rule over the latest arrival, Spanish winger Kareem Tunde, 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 Albion’s eighth signing of the summer. Morrison, though, has no intention of easing off before the 1 September deadline.

“I am hopeful,” he said. “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.”

The recruitment drive comes against the backdrop of an excellent opening to the Championship campaign. Albion have taken maximum points from their first two matches, setting an early benchmark that their head coach is determined to protect.

Upcoming Fixture

Next up is a trip steeped in personal history for Morrison: Middlesbrough on Saturday, last season’s beaten play-off finalists and the club where he began his playing career.

For some managers, that might stir nostalgia. Morrison has already lived that story.

“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.”