West Bromwich Albion kick off their 2023/24 Championship campaign with a trip to face Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park on Saturday but their business in the transfer window is far from over.
Who have West Brom signed this summer?
The Baggies faithful will only have one fresh face to look forward to seeing on the pitch for the opening day clash as Carlos Corberan has only been able to sign one player so far this summer.
Ecuador international Jeremy Sarmiento recently joined the club on a season-long loan from Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion to bolster the manager's attacking options.
The second tier outfit still have a month left to make further additions to their playing squad and one area in which they could look to strengthen is the middle of the park.
It was reported last month that the Baggies are one of a number of clubs interested in signing Fortuna Dusseldorf central midfielder Ao Tanaka, alongside Fulham, West Ham United, and Leicester.
How good is Ao Tanaka?
Corberan could sign the Japan international at the perfect time as the talented maestro turns 25 in September and is heading into the prime years of his career.
The Fortuna ace is not an unproven youngster with little experience or a veteran with no development left to go through, which means that he is at the ideal point in his career to be a superb short and long-term option for West Brom.
Tanaka could come in as an upgrade on Ireland international Jayson Molumby in midfield after the former Brighton midfielder failed to catch the eye during the 2022/23 campaign.
The 23-year-old averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.81 across 43 Championship appearances for the club, which placed him 14th within the squad – far from being one of the top-performing players at The Hawthorns.
Molumby created 0.4 chances and won 3.1 duels per game for the side, whilst he came out on top of just 48% of his individual contests, as per Sofascore.
Tanaka, on the other hand, provided one key pass and won 4.7 battles per outing in the 2. Bundesliga last season, whilst the talented wizard boasted a duel success rate of 55%. He also made 2.7 tackles and interceptions per game – 0.8 more per clash than the current West Brom midfielder.
The Fortuna maestro, who journalist Josh Bunting once hailed as "effective", also caught the eye at the World Cup last year with one goal and a duel success rate of 70% across three appearances, including games against Germany and Spain.
These statistics suggest that the 5 foot 11 technician has the potential to offer more than Molumby in and out of possession, with his ability to create chances for the attackers on a regular basis whilst also winning more physical contests with greater efficiency.
This is all backed up by his average Sofascore rating as Tanaka recorded a score of 6.93. That would have placed him sixth within the Baggies squad last term and fifth out of every outfield player, which is significantly higher than the ex-Brighton man ranked.
Therefore, Corberan could improve his midfield by swooping for the competitive battler from the second division in Germany as his statistics indicate that he can add an injection of quality to the group.
