Albion blog: A busy summer ahead

Albion's swim from the deep waters of relegation uncertainty finally reached the safety of the Geordie shore at St James's Park on Saturday and thoughts can finally turn to another huge summer off the field for the Baggies...writes blogger Warren Stephens.

One thing's for certain, we simply cannot afford many more recruitment disasters like those we've encountered in the last couple of seasons – eventually the tide will catch up with us, so who will Tony Pulis be shipping out this summer and who will be climbing aboard the good-ship Albion?

Goalkeeper

In recent seasons we've been quite fortunate to have, in Ben Foster and Boaz Myhill, two excellent goalkeepers, certainly for a club of our size and stature. Foster's form was a little patchy before sustaining a long-term knee injury but he's an international keeper and a modern rarity, in that he's the ultimate clubman.

Myhill's been excellent in recent weeks and it'll be interesting to see what would happen when Foster returns, if Boaz were to extend his stay beyond his current contract, which will hopefully be the case. You suspect that scenario might become pivotal to those negotiations.

Defence

Craig Dawson and Chris Brunt's contributions as makeshift full-backs have been admirable but neither they, nor Joleon Lescott, are likely long-term solutions in those positions – full-backs have to be a priority. It looks probable that Cristian Gamboa, Sebastien Pocognoli and Jason Davidson will be made to walk the plank and Andre Wisdom will be returning to Liverpool.

In Dawson, Lescott, Gareth McAuley and Jonas Olsson, Albion are well-stocked in the centre-back department and 10 clean sheets in 2015 is certainly testament to our resilience. I read a lot of harsh criticism after McAuley's mistake against Leicester and also a lot of cynicism around Olsson's return at the grand old age of 32 after a lengthy lay off.

Those players were the bedrock of the side that finished 8th – they've never been THE problem and I don't think they are now. Neither is a picture of elegance but they don't realistically need to be. In a Pulis side that's mostly going to be deep, compact and inviting crosses, they'll head balls away all day and their commitment and desire in unquestionable. Unless McAuley's body gives up on him at 35, or an absolute bargain becomes available, I suspect we'll see the same players fighting over the same central positions next season.

Midfield

Chris Brunt and James Morrison have periodically been singled out for criticism with many observers pointing to the lack of personnel change in our midfield since our promotion in 2010.

For me, Morrison has been one of our best players since Pulis's arrival, he seems to have undergone something of a resurgence. Brunt has had to sacrifice himself for the team and his future as a midfielder is less clear. His ability is unquestionable, he's still got twice as many assists as any other Albion player this season, despite playing half the season at left-back and the perception that his role isn't as pivotal as it was in seasons gone by.

The main issue I have with Brunt on the left of midfield is that he doesn't get far enough up the pitch, often takes the safe option in possession and tends to drift infield which makes us easier to defend against. I lost count of the number of times early in the season, for example, that Pocognoli would look to play the ball up the line then have to turn back to his keeper. Brunt also doesn't possess the mobility to press the opposition in a way that Pulis might like.

That said, I think disposing of either Brunt or Morrison would be foolish and just creating problems for ourselves. Neither has a vast sell-on value and hence would be tricky to replace, both are seasoned Premier League footballers, valuable squad members at worst and probably good people to have in the dressing room, much like Craig Gardner.

Claudio Yacob has proved he can provide a stout defensive shield in certain games and Darren Fletcher is a given. A big question mark lingers over Youssouf Mulumbu's future, he's clearly struggled this season without game time but equally Pulis seems reluctant to give him 90 minutes.

As a 30-something who didn't see Bryan Robson in an Albion shirt, Mulumbu is undoubtedly the best midfielder I've seen at the Hawthorns. I think it would be sad if we lost him for virtually nothing when he's been such a valuable asset for us. I hope that he's given another opportunity to recapture the form of seasons gone by.

The missing pieces in the midfield jigsaw appear to be in wide areas. Big things will be expected from Callum McManaman after a full pre-season but other than he and Stephane Sessegnon, we have no other players who can beat a man, turn the opposition towards their own goal and change a game. For that reason I'd be sad to see Sessegnon leave or, at the very least, more than sufficiently replaced. Pace and width will be a must.

Strikers

Victor Anichebe is probably the closest Albion have to the type of striker a Pulis side needs, his performance at Palace being a good example. His injury record is awful though and I don't think he's mobile enough to put pressure on opposing defenders when we don't have the ball. Curiously he's built like a sprinter and often looks like he's ran a marathon. I expect he'll remain unless we bring in multiple players with similar attributes - we'll need at least one.

When Brown Ideye hit a purple patch in February he remarked that holding the ball up was one of his main assets. Being brutally honest, I don't think we've seen enough evidence of that before or since. The Villa and Leicester games were crying out for somebody up top to keep the ball and relieve the pressure on us - neither Brown nor

Saido Berahino could hold their own water in those games. I half-expect Albion will cut their losses with Ideye over the summer and look elsewhere.

Berahino is an intriguing situation, without a presence alongside him or much of the ball in or around the opposing penalty area, his contribution is often negligible, but he scores goals and that's priceless at this level.

It will be interesting to see if Pulis is willing to fit players around him or what his response would be to a significant bid. I should say that I suggested we should sell him for a sizeable fee back in January and I was probably wrong. His work ethic and all-round contribution has certainly improved since Pulis's arrival and will hopefully only get better.

So, let the fun - and the inevitable links with Dieumerci Mbokani - begin. Much of our summer business will depend on who owns the football club and also how much Tony Pulis dictates who our targets are. Without question, whoever comes in will need to be more Lukaku than Lugano if we're going to avoid another relegation fight next season.

Come on you Baggies!!