West Brom are set to beat rivals Middlesbrough to sign new winger Finn Azaz

West Bromwich Albion and Middlesbrough are two teams that will be hoping to be promoted to the Premier League next season.

The Baggies finished 21st in the Championship in the 2025/26 campaign, narrowly avoiding relegation to League One, and know they have a lot of work to do this summer to build a squad that can compete for promotion.

James Morrison’s side have failed to score in three of the last six games of the league season and need to add quality to their front line if they are to move up the table.

Meanwhile, Middlesbrough lost 1-0 to Hull City in the play-off final after advancing to the semi-finals thanks to a Spygate penalty against Southampton, who had previously lost to Saints in the semi-finals.

One thing Boro and the Baggies have in common is that they both had attacking midfielder Finn Azaz on their books, and he is now one of the best players in the Championship.

Why West Brom and Middlesbrough need their next Finn Azaz

Southampton signed the Ireland international from Middlesbrough last summer for £14m, and he has bagged 12 goals and eight assists for the Saints this season.

That came after he scored 17 goals and provided 17 assists in 68 appearances for Boro in all competitions, showing his quality as a goalscorer and creator on a regular basis.

Azaz began his career at West Brom’s academy and made 85 appearances at U18 and U21 level before Aston Villa snapped him up before making a first-team appearance at The Hawthorns.

Now, both clubs need their new Azaz this summer as none of their players have hit double figures in assists in the league, with the Ireland star having assisted 10 or more goals in two of the last three seasons.

Kim Hellberg and Morrison both, therefore, need more talent like Azaz in their teams, and they can get it by entering the transfer market.

Another way the two Championship sides could improve their squad would be to explore the free transfer market for profit in the coming weeks.

Norwich City have already confirmed that attacking midfielder Emiliano Marcondes will leave at the end of June when his contract expires, with the Baggies and Boro both set to target him on a permanent basis.

The Danish international has played 16 times in the Championship for the Canaries, who have Paris Maghoma and Anis Ben Slimane in his place, but his numbers in 90 suggest he still has more to offer at that level.

His level compared to his established peers in a number of creative metrics suggests that West Brom and Middlesbrough could both benefit from the talent he could offer the number ten position.

In fact, he averaged more xA per 90 than Azaz (0.22) did in the Championship this season, which speaks to the level of quality he can bring to Hellberg or Morrison’s side at the other end of the pitch.

While playing regularly under Johannes Hoff Thorup in the 2024/25 campaign, Marcondes also bagged five goals and six assists in 25 league starts.

Prior to his time at Carrow Road, the veteran was one of the managers in the second division, managing Brentford’s play-off against Swansea at Wembley in 2021.

The 31-year-old also helped Bournemouth secure automatic promotion to the Premier League by finishing runners-up in the Championship in the 2021/22 campaign, meaning they won promotion in back-to-back seasons.

Now, West Brom and Boro should both aim to bring him on a free in the hope that he can help them secure promotion to the second tier by being an Azaz-like force in the top ten.

It would be a risky move, given his lack of game time for Norwich this season, but his basic numbers suggest it would be a great move if they give him regular minutes and allow him to be a star creator in the top ten.