West Brom state of play for summer ahead as transfer window opens

That remains owners Bilkul's priority until pen is put to paper following a six-week search for Tony Mowbray's successor.

But, somewhat in the background, the summer transfer window opened on Sunday allowing clubs to get their business under way early and well in advance of the 2025/26 campaign.

The window runs until 7pm on June 10, ahead of the newly-designed Club World Cup, and then re-opens on June 16 until September 1 for the main window.

While the head coach appointment will undoubtedly help set things in motion on the recruitment front, Albion's strategy under Bilkul's board is for recruitment to largely fall under the hierarchy's umbrella and those within particular positions.

Sporting director Andrew Nestor leads the way on footballing matters. He joined the club upon Shilen Patel's takeover in February 2024 and has since taken on the sporting director title after a brief spell in an interim role.

Underneath Nestor is director of football operations Ian Pearce, whose time at The Hawthorns pre-dates Bilkul's involvement and goes back to November 2018. Former defender Pearce, whose title was previously head of recruitment, oversees the scouting and recruitment operations at the club.