West Bromwich Albion officially confirmed the signing of France defender Nolan Galves on a permanent deal from Rodez to strengthen their defensive options on Tuesday.
The 23-year-old talent has joined James Morrison’s first-choice right-back for the Championship campaign after Danny Imray returned to Crystal Palace at the end of last season.
Imray was considered by the Baggies as a permanent signing in the summer to return to The Hawthorns, but they were sold without leaving for his services.
The England defender is now on his way to Championship rivals Wrexham for £5m, while West Brom have already moved to sign Galves as his replacement.
Why Galves is more exciting than Imray
Signing the French star is a much more exciting deal than signing Imray permanently 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 Championship appearances for the Baggies in the second half of last season, a strong return for the defender.
|
25/26 Ligue 2 |
Galves |
|---|---|
|
Appearance |
32 |
|
Key passes per game |
1.6 |
|
xA |
4.60 |
|
Great opportunities have been created |
10 |
|
It helps |
7 |
|
Successful dribbles per game |
0.8 |
Galves, however, collected seven assists and created ten ‘big chances’ for Rodez in Ligue 2, suggesting he has the quality to create more chances for his Baggies teammates than Imray could.
He could provide more support in attack by providing quality crosses for the likes of Aune Heggebo and Barney Stewart to attack, if he can adapt to the Championship.
Therefore, Galves is a more exciting talent than Imray, due to his attacking prowess, and he could be a good fit for the team, after scoring just 48 goals in 46 league games last term.
West Brom are talking about signing a more exciting talent than Imray
Although the Frenchman is still a better player than Imray, the club are looking for a homegrown player who could be more exciting than Palace.
West Brom website EyaWeGew, in association with West Brom Xtra, are reporting that the club are in ongoing talks with Southampton over a deal to sign Cameron Archer this summer.
Their first presentation of the pursuit was that the Baggies hoped to sign the Englishman for up to £5m, with £3m initially.
This latest update, however, means that there is a bridge between their valuation and Southampton’s valuation, meaning they could go over £5m if they want to bring him to The Hawthorns.
Middlesbrough, who was on loan from Teeside previously, has been urged to reunite with the striker, but the Baggies must quickly make sure they don’t get the chance.
If the Baggies are going to commit £5m or more to signing a homegrown 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 mentioned above, did not respect goals in the Championship last season and adding a player like the English striker to their squad would help build a more effective attacking unit.
|
25/26 Championship |
Arrow at 90 |
Position vs STs |
|---|---|---|
|
Shots |
2.70 |
21% higher |
|
Shots on target |
1.08 |
Up to 30% |
|
xG |
0.50 |
Top 15% |
|
Goals |
0.36 |
Up to 35% |
|
xA |
0.14 |
Top 4% |
|
It helps |
0.27 |
Top 8% |
Archer scored just four goals in 30 league appearances for the Saints last season, but started just 11 of those games and his underwhelming numbers suggest he has the potential to thrive with more minutes.
He was behind Cyle Larin and Ross Stewart in the St. Mary’s, meaning he didn’t get as many starts as he would have liked, yet the forward still managed a combined 0.64 xG and xA in 90 saves.
Archer spent the last two seasons in the Premier League with Southampton and Sheffield United, both of whom were relegated, and scored just six goals in that time.
Before that, however, the 24-year-old scored 11 goals in 20 appearances as a regular starter on loan at Middlesbrough in the second half of the 2022/23 Championship campaign.
The England international is capable of being an efficient and reliable scorer in the second tier, as evidenced by his limited-time stats for Southampton and his form for Boro, so he will be an exciting player for the Baggies.
He will have a huge impact on the team from an attacking point of view and delight the fans more than Imray could, and now the board is on to get a deal over the line in the coming days.
