Chris Hall

A Football Association rule change limiting Elite Significant Contribution slots to players born on or after 1 January 2003 has sharply reduced the pool of overseas players available to Championship clubs. The resulting competition has driven up domestic and international transfer fees, benefiting Premier League sellers and making recruitment especially difficult for financially constrained West Bromwich Albion after its points deduction. Albion may need to wait for the market to cool, pursue value deals and rely more heavily on academy players such as Harry Whitwell.