West Brom Championship Odds: A year of building for Ryan Mason

West Bromwich Albion have trusted their project to the charge of Ryan Mason, the latest young coach looking to find his way in management. He has gained experience with Tottenham Hotspur in the last few years and now feels he is ready to lead in the Championship.

The Baggies have had their financial troubles in recent years but they are hoping to push on now. It's a competitive division this year but I've had a go at predicting how Albion's campaign will unfold using the West Brom Championship Odds.

West Brom are about to embark on their fifth-straight campaign in the second tier since being relegated from the Premier League in 2020/21. Their last four years in the Championship have seen them finish: 10th, 9th, 5th and 9th.

The club has ambitions of returning to the top flight but it doesn't seem like something that will happen overnight. There was hope that Carlos Corberan was going to be the man to deliver this but he was pulled by his heart to Valencia in the middle of last season.

Championship Odds

Albion turned to Tony Mowbray to succeed him but this reunion did not go as planned so they have gone for a more modern approach with their latest appointment. We have nothing to judge in terms of Mason's coaching career so far, but there will be a lot of keen eyes watching to see what he can accomplish this term.

Transfer Business:

In: Aune Heggebo (£4.75m, Brann), Nat Phillips (£3m, Liverpool) and George Campbell (£1m, Montreal).

Out: John Swift (free, Portsmouth), Semi Ajayi (free, Hull City), Ted Cann (free, Rotherham United) and Grady Diangana (released).

Although they haven't conducted much business this summer, the acquisition of striker Aune Heggebo for just shy of £5m has raised some eyebrows. The forward has been one of the brightest talents in Norway in recent years and in the 2025 Eliteserien campaign for Brann, the 24-year-old had scored seven goals in 13 appearances.

If he can translate that form into the Championship, he could be a great asset for the Baggies this year. Nat Phillips was in need of a permanent home after several loan spells away from Liverpool. He brings plenty of experience and should be a decent addition at The Hawthorns.

Key Player: Tom Fellows*

With West Brom not having much financial freedom last year, they were very grateful that academy graduate Tom Fellows stepped up and delivered last season, as he went on to provide the most additions in the Championship in 2024/25 with 14.

The winger is one of the most exciting young players in the EFL and he is already being tracked by Premier League clubs, notably Everton, hence the asterisk next to his name.

If West Brom can keep hold of him this summer, it will give them a huge boost and his individual quality could help them push themselves into the play-off picture. He was also part of the England Under-21s squad that won the Euros earlier in the summer, so he is a player with a huge future ahead of him - and he may just benefit from another year at The Hawthorns, which could see his value sky-rocket.

Prediction: 10th

Albion will be hoping to be in the play-off picture this season but there are quite a few teams with the credentials to mount a top-six push this year. Not only do West Brom need to be worried about the teams coming down from the Premier League (Ipswich Town, Southampton and Leicester City), they need to look over their shoulder at the teams who have just come up from League 1 (Birmingham City and Wrexham).

Then you have the likes of Coventry City and Sheffield United thrown into the mix, it is going to be very competitive. While I think recent seasons have raised concerns of stagnation, I don't think the Baggies are in any danger of dropping outside the top 10.

Football Odds

Their signings so far look interesting but I think Mason will need more, as well as keeping current key personnel fit and healthy for West Brom to achieve anything higher as things stand. You look at the fitness records of strikers Josh Maja and Daryl Dike, which are both concerning, hence the addition of Heggebo in this transfer window.

All three will need to be fit and firing to help Albion achieve their lofty ambitions, but this is perhaps not the year for it to happen.

Today's Football Fixtures

You can read all our latest Football Betting Tips at our dedicated Betfred Insights content hub.