00:00That is the main headline talking point of Albion. It's not just deadline day, it's Albion
00:04window really. The fact that Adam Armstrong has come in. Tony Mowbray said a few weeks
00:08ago he wanted a striker who lives for scoring goals. I don't think there's anyone else better
00:16at the moment around who fits that bill. Adam Armstrong has scored a goal every two games
00:22in his last three championship seasons. He obviously loves Tony Mowbray because he's
00:26played for him before. He's scored a lot of goals for him before. And Albion have managed
00:30to get this deal done. A marquee deal, not just for Albion, I would say, but for the
00:36top teams in the championship. There'll be a lot in that play-off race. We'll be looking
00:39now at Albion thinking, wow, we've got our work cut out against Albion. What a signing.
00:45Hats off to Build Pult for getting it done. We've waxed lyrical about their business in
00:50the transfer market in the summer and in January. It was almost kind of a perfect way to finish
00:56the window. Maybe not on the time-ins, but certainly on the personnel that came in.
01:26It's a massive statement signing. You just touched on it there for rivals. It's a massive
01:36statement signing for the top end of the division. I think even the clubs around the top three
01:43positions who are out of sight, let's be honest, would sit up and take note of that. It's a
01:52coup, isn't it? I know from reports that rivals who were pushing hard for strikers
01:58weren't they? The likes of Sunderland, certainly Middlesbrough. Suggestions that were priced
02:03out of this loan, which won't have come cheap. I'm sure, from what I understand, Armstrong's
02:11salary is pretty hefty at St Mary's and it would be a fair contribution. Albion will
02:16be footing. I've seen reports down on the south coast, which I haven't had a chance
02:21to check out yet. There'll be a loan fee involved, which I would expect as well.
02:25Certainly, into the afternoon of deadline day, it wasn't expected to be one that Albion would
02:30be able to do financially. The night went, didn't it? We all know how the night of Monday,
02:38the 3rd of Feb, 2025 went. Basically, Adam Armstrong became quote-unquote available,
02:45but maybe more viable for Albion in terms of making the finances work. Then it was a scramble,
02:53and then it was submitted on time, and then it was in the hands of the AFL. We all love
02:59them and how that's gone this morning, don't we? Because they seem to have gone through their list
03:04alphabetically, which we were all kind of joking about, but actually seems to be how it happened,
03:09which is phenomenal, really. But we got there in the end, didn't we? The bottom line is it's
03:14a statement, it's a coup, it's something that Mowbray's made happen. I'm pretty confident in
03:21saying it wouldn't have happened otherwise. That's just looking back at the pair's relationship.
03:29Mowbray's been in the building, what, a few weeks, a couple of weeks,
03:33and he said he's come in promising, attacking football again, goals, shots, chances. Who
03:40better in this division to have in the 18-yard box, in the six-yard box, to finally turn some
03:46of these home? To get someone of this calibre in so late in the window, as late as it was,
03:51is not ideal, but to get someone in, like say, of Armstrong's calibre. I think Mowbray's asked
03:59to go to Bilko, not just for the whole window, but for that deal at the end. We've read,
04:04Cocktagu, you referenced it there, I've seen reports on the south coast that Albion are
04:08footing the majority of Armstrong's salary, as you said, and a loan fee,
04:12and they wouldn't be doing this deal if it wasn't kind of viable, and we've heard all about PSR and
04:16FFP coming down the line, but it's a deal they were able to do, which brings even more comfort
04:23that Albion are in a good or a better position than maybe some of us thought. You referenced
04:30the other attackers, and I just want to move on to that as we move on the Transwindow chat,
04:36because we've got a lot of questions that have come in. We've talked for the last couple of
04:41years where Albion have basically played with one striker at times, they've played with no striker,
04:46now we're in a position where we're coming out of a window into a really pivotal part of the season.
04:51You've got the Championships, one of the Championships' most potent marksmen from
04:54the last few years, in the side till the end of the season. A very highly rated youngster
04:59in Will Lancashire, who's going to be in and amongst it. You've got Josh Madger coming back
05:04to form, who has been at times one of the most informed players in the Championship this season,
05:09and on the back of that you've got Daryl Dekay, who is obviously a threat. His fitness issues,
05:17we've just got to wait and see on that one, but Albion haven't been in this stronger position
05:23with this kind of front line probably since the Gael and Rodriguez years. They didn't really have
05:30potent strikers under Slavin Bilic when they went up, that was a lot of fantastic creative
05:35midfield. This is the strongest position Albion have been for years in terms of strikers in the
05:41Championship. I just think it's not the guarantee that they're going to get into the playoffs or
05:49even go up, but they're in such a strong position. My point is the contrast from recent years to now
05:56in terms of what they are going to have in the coming months,
06:01and it's all been completed by this signing of Armstrong.
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