Steve Bruce wants West Brom to sign 'half a team' of new players for next season

West Bromwich Albion manager Steve Bruce has made clear that he would like to see 'five or six' new signings this summer.

Bruce has been clear in recent weeks that the club are expecting a big summer is approaching with players coming in and out of The Hawthorns after a far from good enough first season back in the Championship. Albion will finish as high as tenth with a win against Barnsley this weekend on 67 points, some way short of pre-season expectations.

This has been acknowledged at every turn as their play-off push fizzled out and became an impossibility only late last month. Ahead of the final match of the season, the Albion boss has again made it clear a busy summer is on the horizon.

Asked for a rough figure of incoming to expect this summer, Bruce replied: “Five or six – we need half a team. And hopefully, we will get a few of those in before the start of pre-season."

“Loans are always a bit later, and you have to be a bit shrewder in the market.

“Let’s be brutally honest, the bigger clubs will have a look at their younger players and then make a decision on whether they are going to keep them or not. We have to be a bit patient there.

“But I would expect three or four before we kick off the season, ideally I’d like them in for pre-season. It gives you the ideal opportunity to work with them so it would be nice if we could.”

One permanent incoming has already been confirmed in the form of Jayson Molumby after the Republic of Ireland international officially became an Albion player earlier this week. Whether that signing is in addition to that overall figure remains to be seen, but what is clear is that the 22-year-old won't be the last one through the door.