West Brom have travelled back in time to move the current squad forward

I for one have been guilty of overusing the term 'biggest summer for years' when it comes to Albion's business in the last three seasons.

This summer though it very much has been the case from minute one.

A raft of players were released and no one could argue it was needed, to clear out the decks and to also reduce the wage bill.

But when three players were sold in the space of a week, as opportunistic clubs came in with bids that were hard to turn down, worries were circling around the club and throughout the fan base.

However, as much as this summer was important regarding who was going out the door, who would be coming in was the more burning question.

In recent times, Albion have gone for proven Championship players. Some have maybe past their best and they've been put on long contracts and wages that came back to bite hard.

Some still remain and are a key part of the side.

This summer though, the transfer strategy had to be creative and outside the box. On that, the club have delivered.

Albion have managed to return to their successful method of unknown foreign talents for small fees.

Ousmane Diakite, Torbjorn Heggem, Gabriel Frabotta and Oros Racic all represent that method of recruitment.

Other deals have been, you could say, opportunistic. Paddy McNair on loan until the end of the year is an example of that, as is Devante Cole. A low cost deal for someone with a point to prove at the level.

Lewis Dobbin comes as a marquee loanee with hopes he can get somewhere near the level that Mikey Johnston did at the back end of last season.

In terms of the finances and fees, Albion have worked on a shoestring again.

It is the first time they have paid out a fee since Brandon Thomas-Asante and is only the second time since their relegation from the Premier League in 2021 that they have paid out a transfer fee on more than one player.

That shows what can be done by creative and careful work.

Ian Pearce, the head of football operations, formerly head of recruitment, has come in for criticism in the past because Albion's recruitment, certainly since relegation from the top flight, has arguably been shoddy.

That has to be said with a caveat of the Lai era and the financial instability.

But this summer has been a breath of fresh air.

The next few days are going to be interesting with the Tom Fellows interest, and how that situation is handled will probably have a say in how the window has been judged as a whole.

But the biggest indication on the success of this vital transfer window, is that what has happened off the pitch with ins and outs has raised the mood of the fan base just as much as the start to the season on it.