The Midlands will be well represented in the Championship this season, with four clubs hoping to mount a challenge for promotion to the Premier League.
Leicester City claimed top spot to win an immediate return to the top flight last season, while Birmingham City were relegated to League One.
West Bromwich Albion, Coventry City and Stoke City remain in the Championship and will be joined by newly-promoted Derby County. Read on as we assess their promotion chances.
West Bromwich Albion
After making a slow start to the 2023/24 season, West Brom eventually found some form and climbed into play-off contention.
They finished the campaign in fifth position, but a 3-1 aggregate defeat against Southampton in the play-off semi-final ended their promotion hopes.
Carlos Corberan has remained with the club despite links with a move to the Premier League and their fans have plenty to look forward to this term. Corberan was previously targeted by Leeds United according to Football Today, but he resisted the temptation to stay loyal to the Baggies.
The club has confirmed the signings of Torbjorn Heggem, Ousmane Diakite and Joe Wildsmith this summer and are eager to make further additions.
New owner Shilen Patel has lived up to his promises and West Brom’s squad should be in good shape by the time the transfer window closes.
Oxford United midfielder Cameron Brannagan has been strongly linked with the club and would be an extremely useful addition to the starting XI.
While West Brom will likely find it difficult to challenge for automatic promotion, retaining their place in the top six should not be beyond them.
Coventry City
A strong run of form in the middle of the season pushed Coventry City into the top six, but they ultimately ran out of steam to finish ninth.
They will have another crack at mounting a promotion challenge this time around and could be a good bet to get the job done. Mark Robins is one of the most underrated managers in the English Football League and should have the Sky Blues in contention again this season.
The club has spent more than £8 million during the transfer window, which will help to compensate for the loss of some key players.
Attacking midfielder Jack Rudoni is an exciting addition from Huddersfield Town who should provide plenty of ammunition for Ellis Simms and Haji Wright.
A move for Fulham’s Jay Stansfield would boost Coventry’s firepower and give them something different in the final third. Stansfield scored 12 goals in 43 league appearances on loan at Birmingham last season and would probably be more prolific in a better team.
If Robins can add another couple of quality players to his squad this summer, City should mount a strong bid to secure a play-off spot.
Stoke City
Stoke City have been poster boys for underachievement in the Championship, failing to finish higher than 14th place since dropping into the second tier in 2018.
Manager Steven Schumacher has made it clear that he wants to bolster his attacking options this summer, but that is proving easier said than done.
Leicester City striker Tom Cannon has been touted as a potential target, while Cameron Archer could be loaned out by Aston Villa following his return from Sheffield United.
Stansfield could be another option, although he is more likely to favour a club which can offer him the opportunity to challenge for promotion.
A measure of the difficulty facing Stoke during the summer transfer window is their failure to sign forward Sinclair Armstrong from Queens Park Rangers.
The 21-year-old opted to join Bristol City rather than move to Stoke, which is a sad state of affairs for a club which was in the Premier League not too long ago.
Eric-Junior Bocat, Viktor Johansson and Ben Gibson are useful additions to the squad, but Stoke need several more signings if they are to challenge for the top six.
Derby County
As highlighted by Sports Today, a hefty points deduction scuppered Derby’s hopes of retaining their Championship status in 2021/22.
It took them two seasons to climb back into the second tier, but they should have enough about them to steer clear of trouble this time around.
They are reportedly close to securing a loan move for Crystal Palace midfielder David Ozoh after fighting off competition from a couple of Championship rivals.
Ozoh is expected to be Derby’s sixth summer signing following the arrivals of Ben Osborn, Kenzo Goudmijn, Kayden Jackson, Jerry Yates and Ebou Adam.
The Rams are expected to make further additions to their squad before the end of August and should be capable of navigating their way into mid-table.
Although Derby are unlikely to trouble the top six, they may well cause problems for promotion-chasing teams at Pride Park this season.
