TV schedule announced for start of EFL seasonpublished at 16:07 BST 2 July
16:07 BST 2 July
Image source, Getty Images
The TV schedule for the opening two months of the English Football League's 2026-27 season have been announced and with that, there are a few games getting a headline slot.
Here are the new dates to jot into your calendars across the EFL in August and September:
Thursday, 20 August - Sheffield Wednesday v Bradford City (20:00 BST)
Sunday, 23 August - West Bromwich Albion v Burnley (12:00 BST)
Friday, 28 August - Wrexham v Birmingham City (20:00 BST)
Sunday, 6 September - Birmingham City v Wolves (12:00 BST)
Monday, 7 September - Bromley v AFC Wimbledon (20:00 BST)
Thursday, 10 September - Stevenage v Luton Town (20:00 BST)
Friday, 11 September - West Ham United v Wrexham (20:00 BST)
Sunday, 13 September - Sheffield United v Wolves (12:00 BST)
Thursday, 17 September - AFC Wimbledon v MK Dons (20:00 BST)
Friday, 18 September - Bristol City v Watford (20:00 BST)
Sunday, 20 September - Wolves v West Bromwich Albion (12:00 BST)
The above matches are the single-game choices whose dates have been moved for TV coverage - there are also a number of Saturday lunchtime, evening and multi-game midweek matches also being televised. The full list is available here., external
The BBC Sport website will have live text commentaries of all the above fixtures and you can also tune in to games via your local BBC Radio station.
Gossip: Baggies' Higgins to join Wiganpublished at 10:29 BST 2 July
10:29 BST 2 July
West Bromwich Albion winger Akeel Higgins is set to join Wigan Athletic after the Birmingham-born 20-year-old spent his first full season in senior football on loan to Exeter City last season. (Alan Nixon via Patreon - requires subscription), external
However, off the pitch concerns were mounting for new owners Bilkul.
The club had gone through the campaign with the oldest squad in the Championship (with an average age of nearly 28 years old).
The club knew they had a Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) problem they needed to get out from under, but they also had an ageing squad with very few saleable assets.
It was a problem they'd inherited due to the mismanagement of the Guochuan Lai regime.
The club had signed 13 players permanently in the final two years under Lai, following relegation from the Premier League in 2020-21 - just two were aged under 25.
Furthermore, the club released Sam Johnstone, Ken Zohore, Kieran Gibbs, Romaine Sawyers and Kamil Grosicki on frees over the same two seasons.
Those six players had cost Albion just shy of £30m in transfer fees, yet the club recouped not a penny on any of them.
The transfer policy was fundamentally flawed.
The Throstles were buying players, but the majority were joining at the height of their value (or well past their best) and deteriorating into largely valueless assets while at Albion.
It was little surprise that, by the time Bilkul took the helm in early 2024, the club were projecting a PSR breach in the tens of millions.
Bilkul clearly identified the problems of the previous ownership and set about developing a very different approach to the transfer market.
In the past two seasons, Albion have only signed one outfield player aged over 27 (Nat Phillips) and not a single one over 30.
Ten of 14 permanent signings have been aged under 25, while Albion have moved on an impressive eight players aged over 30.
The result has been remarkable; Albion have gone from having the oldest squad in the league to having one of the top 10 youngest in the Championship.
It has also led to the club being able to finally generate real profit on players.
In the past two seasons players have been sold for fees totalling around £25m more than we paid for them.
And, despite those PSR challenges now being behind Albion, it doesn't seem that this summer will see any major change in approach.
Shilen Patel outlined his transfer policy to fans in an open letter on Friday, stating that the club doesn't need to throw around big transfer fees to find value in the market.
Value is exactly what Albion are looking for, and that is evident from their first three signings of the window.
A trio of young, upcoming outfield prospects have been snapped up for modest fees in the shape of Barney Stewart (20), Jimmy-Jay Morgan (22) and Carter Pinnington (19).
Patel says that's not the end of the signings, but also says there won't be a departure from the plan either.
I expect that to mean that future signings will probably have a little more experience than those already signed on, but will still be young enough to potentially be developed into profit-making signings.
Links to players such as Danny Imray and Cameron Archer probably reflect that, as both have shown they are more than capable at the level, but at 22 and 24 respectively, have room to grow and increase in value.
Buy young, develop them, sell high, and repeat seems to be the Bilkul model.
On paper, it looks like a winning strategy; let's hope this season, it translates onto the grass.
Gill staying at West Brom as Strachan joinspublished at 14:15 BST 23 June
14:15 BST 23 June
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Matt Gill arrived at Albion in March and helped the club pull clear of relegation trouble in the Championship last season
West Bromwich Albion have confirmed Matt Gill will be staying as assistant head coach to boss James Morrison and added Celtic first-team coach Gavin Strachan and former Middlesbrough defender Tony McMahon to the coaching staff.
Gill joined up with the Baggies for the last 11 fixtures of 2025-26, as they went on to secure their Championship survival off the back of a 10-game unbeaten run.
Strachan, 47, has been with the Scottish champions since 2020 after previous assistant manager roles in the EFL with Doncaster and Peterborough.
McMahon, 40, has had previous coaching experience at Scunthorpe United and York City.
Albion also confirmed Boaz Myhill will continue as goalkeeper coach, Leigh Downing will return to his senior role with the Baggies' under-21 team while analyst Damia Abella is leaving after three years.
On Gill's retention, Morrison said it was "great" to have him stay on adding "he's a great coach, I enjoyed working with him last year, the players enjoyed working with him and his efforts were important in us getting over the line".
On the new arrivals, he said: "I'm also delighted to add Gavin Strachan to the group. Having a new pair of eyes from somebody with Gavin's experience will help us massively
"He has worked alongside some top managers, like Martin O'Neill, Ange Postecoglou and Brendan Rodgers, and will no doubt bring fresh ideas with him.
"I know Tony well from our time together at Middlesbrough. He knows me better than anyone in football. He's somebody I trust and whose opinion I've always valued."
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Gavin Strachan has been with Celtic for the past four years
Gossip: Stoke close in on Albion goalkeeper Griffithspublished at 11:48 BST 22 June
11:48 BST 22 June
Stoke City are trying to finalise a deal for West Bromwich Albion's English goalkeeper Josh Griffiths, 24, in a move that would allow the Baggies' England youth international Tommy Simkin, 21, to head back out on loan. (Stoke Sentinel), external
Albion sign young Liverpool defender Pinningtonpublished at 11:01 BST 18 June
11:01 BST 18 June
Image source, Getty Images
West Bromwich Albion have signed defender Carter Pinnington on a three-year deal.
The 19-year-old joins from Liverpool, where he has risen through the youth ranks to become a regular part of their under-21s team but has yet to make his senior debut.
He will join the Baggies' under-21 set-up for the immediate future.
"I'm extremely grateful to be joining Albion," Pinnington said in a club statement.
"I had offers from other clubs, but from the very first conversations I had here, it was clear to me that this was the right place for the next stage of my career and an opportunity I couldn't turn down."
The teenager is a former England Under-18 international.
West Brom in advanced talks to sign Chelsea's Morganpublished at 13:08 BST 17 June
13:08 BST 17 June
Nizaar Kinsella Chelsea reporter
Image source, Getty Images
West Brom are progressing talks to sign striker Jimmy‑Jay Morgan from Chelsea on a permanent deal.
The 20-year-old is expected to leave Stamford Bridge, with his contract due to expire next year, for a fee that could rise to £4m includes a substantial sell-on clause.
A move to the Championship would follow an impressive loan spell at League One side Peterborough United, where he scored 12 goals and provided three assists in 34 league appearances.
Morgan joined Chelsea in 2022 as a 17-year-old from Southampton for an initial £3m.
He is highly regarded, having represented England at youth level up to the under-20s, and has also previously spent time on loan at Gillingham.
Why Albion want to keep Grant and Majapublished at 10:54 BST 20 May
10:54 BST 20 May
Chris Hall Fan writer
On Friday, West Bromwich Albion revealed their released and retained list, and the announcement caused a few eyebrows to be raised in the Baggies fanbase.
Of course, not every name on the list was a shock. Jed Wallace's release was sad but not surprising.
The club captain may be a stalwart of 140 league games for the Throstles, but it's the right call.
Wallace missed half the season through injury and, at 32, it would be fair to assume those issues are only likely to get worse, not better.
While Daryl Dike is six and a half years Wallace's junior, he too carried too much risk to be renewed.
Many, myself included, made a case for the big American striker to stay. His committed demeanour on the pitch and his downright lovable personality off it had every Baggie desperate for him to succeed.
But, after four and a half years and only 22 league starts, it was a clear matter of heart ruling head to campaign for him to be given a new contract.
One player who has made a compelling case to stay is goalkeeper Max O'Leary.
In a season where Joe Wildsmith and Josh Griffiths racked up some horrendous shot-stopping statistics that went a long way to plunging Albion into relegation trouble, O'Leary offered the antidote to those ills.
He finished the season in credit in terms of goals prevented, a stat where his predecessors had been heavily in debt, and racked up an incredible eight clean sheets in 16 games.
Albion had only managed seven in 28 games before he arrived.
Little surprise then that the 29-year-old goalkeeper has been offered a new deal.
But there was more of a mixed reception to the fact that deals have been put in front of Josh Maja and Karlan Grant.
Image source, Shutterstock
From a fitness perspective, I get some of the concerns.
Grant started just 17 games last season - fewer than the released Wallace (although he is also four years younger than the skipper).
The 14 games for which Grant was unavailable due to injury this season is more than he's missed through injury in the previous five years of his Albion career.
At just 28, it's easy to believe this level of absence won't be repeated.
Maja, too, lacked starts (just 15 to be precise), but this wasn't due to injury.
Instead, it was down to the then manager Ryan Mason who seemed to believe the forward didn't warrant a place in his starting XI.
That decision was exposed somewhat when James Morrison gave Maja six starts at the back end of the season and was duly rewarded with three goals.
It's hardly surprising when you look at the stats.
In the past two seasons, Maja has not scored once in the league when coming off the bench.
Yet in 41 league starts, in the same period, he has returned an impressive 16 goals.
That record probably goes some way to explain James Morrison's desire to keep the Nigerian striker.
For the reasons behind the efforts to retain Grant, you must dig a little deeper. However, a dip into the data justifies that call too.
Grant is one of the best forwards in the league for ball recoveries in the final third, successful dribbles per 90 and touches in the opposition box. He is also very rarely dribbled past.
In short, Grant is a wide man who works very hard, advances his team up the pitch, presses opposition defenders and looks after his full-back.
While these are not the things that will always catch the eye of spectators, trust me when I tell you that coaches and managers notice and value them.
Add to that the fact that Albion are already light in attacking areas, and retaining players is almost always cheaper than recruiting them, suddenly our retained list starts to make a lot of sense.
However, at the time of writing, none of Grant, O'Leary, nor Maja has signed on the dotted line.
Wanting to keep them is one thing - doing so is something else entirely.
Image source, Getty Images
