| Club: | West Bromwich Albion |
| Season: | 2020–21 |
| Manager: | Slaven Bilić (until 16 December)[1] Sam Allardyce (from 16 December)[2] |
| Mgrtitle: | Head Coach |
| Owner: | Lai Guochuan |
| Stadium: | The Hawthorns |
| League: | Premier League |
| League Result: | 19th (relegated) |
| Cup1: | FA Cup |
| Cup1 Result: | Third round |
| Cup2: | EFL Cup |
| Cup2 Result: | Third round |
| League Topscorer: | Matheus Pereira (11) |
| Season Topscorer: | Matheus Pereira (12) |
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| Prevseason: | 2019–20 |
| Nextseason: | 2021–22 |
The 2020–21 season was the 143rd year in existence of West Bromwich Albion and their first season back in the Premier League after a two-year absence, following promotion from the Championship in the previous season. They also participated in the FA Cup and the EFL Cup.
On 16 December 2020, Albion parted company with head coach Slaven Bilić, after winning one of the first 13 league games.[3] Sam Allardyce was confirmed as his successor later that day, with the former England manager taking charge of his eighth Premier League club, a competition record.[4]
West Brom were relegated back to the Championship, after just one season in the Premier League, following an away defeat to Arsenal on 9 May 2021.[5] This equalled Norwich City's record of five Premier League relegations and was the first time that a team managed by Sam Allardyce had been relegated from the top flight.[6]
Prior to the start of the season, sports journalists were pessimistic about West Bromwich Albion's chances of surviving relegation. Phil McNulty, the BBC's chief football writer, thought that Albion would finish in 19th place,[7] while Henry Winter of The Times also forecast relegation.[8] The Guardian predicted a 20th-place finish, while identifying Matheus Pereira as Albion's key player.[9]
Restrictions stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom created uncertainty surrounding the reintroduction of supporters to football stadia. As a result, the club did not issue full season tickets in 2020–21.[10]
Albion unveiled three new kits for the season, designed in tribute to the "barcode" design worn by the club's promotion winning team of 1992–93.[11] The home kit featured navy blue and white striped shirts, white shorts and navy blue socks,[12] while the away colours comprised green and yellow striped shirts, green shorts and yellow socks.[13] The third kit was made up of red and yellow stripes, red shorts and yellow socks. The kits were manufactured by Puma and were sponsored by Ideal Boilers. Alongside all other Premier League clubs, West Bromwich Albion's players wore a "No Room For Racism" badge on their shirts; this replaced the "Black Lives Matter" badges worn at the end of the previous Premier League season.[14]
| No. | Name | Nat. | Position(s) | Date of birth (Age) | Apps. | Goals | Year signed | Signed from | Transfer fee | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | ||||||||||
| 1 | Sam Johnstone | GK | 1993 2, df=yes | 113 | 0 | 2018 | Manchester United | £6,500,000 | ||
| 25 | David Button | GK | 1989 2, df=yes | 4 | 0 | 2020 | Brighton & Hove Albion | Undisclosed | ||
| 31 | Andy Lonergan | GK | 1983 10, df=yes | 0 | 0 | 2021 | Stoke City | Free | ||
| Defenders | ||||||||||
| 2 | Darnell Furlong |  | RB/CB | 1995 10, df=yes | 53 | 3 | 2019 | Queens Park Rangers | £1,500,000 | |
| 3 | Kieran Gibbs | LB/LM | 1989 9, df=yes | 99 | 5 | 2017 | Arsenal | £7,000,000 | ||
| 5 | Kyle Bartley |  | CB | 1991 5, df=yes | 87 | 5 | 2018 | Swansea City | £4,000,000 | |
| 6 | Semi Ajayi |  | CB/DM | 1993 11, df=yes | 65 | 7 | 2019 | Rotherham United | £1,500,000 | |
| 14 | Conor Townsend | LB/LM | 1993 3, df=yes | 58 | 1 | 2018 | Scunthorpe United | £750,000 | ||
| 20 | Branislav Ivanović |  | CB/RB | 1984 2, df=yes | 13 | 0 | 2020 |  Zenit Saint Petersburg | Free | |
| 22 | Lee Peltier |  | RB/CB/DM | 1986 12, df=yes | 5 | 0 | 2020 | Cardiff City | Free | |
| 24 | Cédric Kipré |   | CB | 1996 12, df=yes | 3 | 0 | 2020 | Wigan Athletic | £990,000 | |
| 26 | Ahmed Hegazi |  | CB | 1991 1, df=yes | 104 | 4 | 2017 | Al Ahly | Undisclosed | |
| 27 | Dara O'Shea |  | CB/RB | 1999 3, df=yes | 39 | 3 | 2017 | Academy | Trainee | |
| Midfielders | ||||||||||
| 8 | Jake Livermore | DM/CM/CB | 1989 11, df=yes | 152 | 7 | 2017 | Hull City | £10,000,000 | ||
| 10 | Matt Phillips | RW/AM/LW | 1991 3, df=yes | 154 | 21 | 2016 | Queens Park Rangers | £5,500,000 | ||
| 11 | Grady Diangana |  | LW/RW/AM | 1998 4, df=yes | 47 | 9 | 2020 | West Ham United | £18,000,000 | |
| 13 | Kamil Grosicki |  | LW/RW | 1988 6, df=yes | 19 | 1 | 2020 | Hull City | Undisclosed | |
| 16 | Rekeem Harper | | CM/AM/DM | 2000 3, df=yes | 40 | 2 | 2016 | Academy | Trainee | |
| 18 | Conor Gallagher | CM/DM/AM | 2000 2, df=yes | 16 | 2 | 2020 | Chelsea | Loan | ||
| 19 | Romaine Sawyers | AM/CM | 1991 11, df=yes | 63 | 1 | 2019 | Brentford | Undisclosed | ||
| 21 | Kyle Edwards | LM/CM/RM | 1998 2, df=yes | 49 | 4 | 2015 | Academy | Trainee | ||
| 23 | Robert Snodgrass | RW/LW/AM | 1987 9, df=yes | 2 | 0 | 2021 | West Ham United | Undisclosed | ||
| 28 | Sam Field | CM/DM/LM | 1998 5, df=yes | 45 | 2 | 2015 | Academy | Trainee | ||
| 30 | Ainsley Maitland-Niles | DM | 29 August 1997 (age 23) | 0 | 0 | 2021 | Arsenal F.C. | Loan | ||
| 35 | Okay Yokuşlu |  | DM | 9 March 1994 (age 26) | 0 | 0 | 2021 |  RC Celta de Vigo | Loan | |
| Forwards | ||||||||||
| 4 | Hal Robson-Kanu | CF/LW/RW | 1989 5, df=yes | 143 | 22 | 2016 | Reading | Free | ||
| 7 | Callum Robinson | | CF/LW/RW | 1995 2, df=yes | 36 | 6 | 2020 | Sheffield United | Undisclosed | |
| 9 | Kenneth Zohore | | CF/SS | 1994 1, df=yes | 20 | 5 | 2019 | Cardiff City | £8,000,000 | |
| 12 | Matheus Pereira |  | RW/LW/AM | 1996 5, df=yes | 60 | 13 | 2020 | Sporting CP | £8,000,000 | |
| 15 | Charlie Austin | CF | 1989 7, df=yes | 45 | 10 | 2019 | Southampton | £4,000,000 | ||
| 17 | Mbaye Diagne |  | CF | 28 October 1991 (age 29) | 1 | 0 | 2021 | Loan | ||
| 29 | Karlan Grant | CF/LW/RW | 1997 9, df=yes | 13 | 1 | 2020 | Huddersfield Town | £15,000,000 |
| Date | Position | Nationality | Name | From | Fee | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 August 2020 | | Undisclosed | [15] | ||||
| 4 September 2020 | Undisclosed | [16] | |||||
| 4 September 2020 | | Undisclosed | [17] | ||||
| 5 September 2020 | Undisclosed | [18] | |||||
| 9 September 2020 | | Undisclosed | [19] | ||||
| 15 September 2020 | | Free transfer | [20] | ||||
| 15 October 2020 | Undisclosed | [21] | |||||
| 8 January 2021 | Undisclosed | [22] | |||||
| 9 January 2021 | Free transfer | [23] |
| Date from | Position | Nationality | Name | From | Date until | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 September 2020 | End of season | [24] | |||||
| 29 September 2020 | End of season | [25] | |||||
| 29 January 2021 | | End of season | [26] | ||||
| 1 February 2021 | | End of season | [27] | ||||
| 1 February 2021 | CM | Ainsley Maitland-Niles | Arsenal F.C. | End of Season |
| Date from | Position | Nationality | Name | To | Date until | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 August 2020 | End of season | [28] | |||||
| 13 August 2020 | End of season | [29] | |||||
| 4 September 2020 | End of season | ||||||
| 4 September 2020 | End of season | [30] | |||||
| 10 September 2020 | Nick Clayton-Phillips | End of season | [31] | ||||
| 11 September 2020 | End of season | [32] | |||||
| 2 October 2020 | 1 January 2021 | [33] | |||||
| 6 October 2020 | Jamie Soule | 1 January 2021 | [34] | ||||
| 8 October 2020 | Owen Windsor | 20 December 2020 | [35] [36] | ||||
| 16 October 2020 | End of season | [37] [38] | |||||
| 26 October 2020 | | End of season | [39] | ||||
| 5 January 2021 | 1 February 2021 | [40] [41] | |||||
| 9 January 2021 | End of season | [42] | |||||
| 21 January 2021 | End of season | [43] | |||||
| 1 February 2021 | CM | Sam Field | Queens Park Rangers F.C. | End of Season with view to permanent transfer | |||
| 1 February 2021 | CB | | Cédric Kipré |  R. Charleroi S.C. | End of Season |
| Date | Position | Nationality | Name | To | Fee | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 July 2020 | [44] [45] | ||||||
| 1 July 2020 |  | Eoin Ashton | Heidelberg United | Released | |||
| 1 July 2020 | Stanley Asomugha | Unattached | Released | ||||
| 1 July 2020 | Jack Chambers | Released | [46] | ||||
| 1 July 2020 | Released | [47] | |||||
| 1 July 2020 | Livingston | Released | [48] | ||||
| 1 July 2020 | | Kevin Healy | Released | [49] | |||
| 1 July 2020 | Carrick Hill | Released | |||||
| 1 July 2020 | Brad House | Released | [50] | ||||
| 1 July 2020 | Released | [51] | |||||
| 1 July 2020 | Dan Meredith | Released | [52] | ||||
| 1 July 2020 | Yusuff Ojebode | Released | |||||
| 1 July 2020 | Lewis Smith | Released | |||||
| 1 July 2020 | Peter Taylor | Released | [53] | ||||
| 1 July 2020 | Jacob Wakeling | Released | [54] | ||||
| 1 July 2020 | Sam Wilding | Released | [55] | ||||
| 1 July 2020 | Remari Williams | Unattached | Released | ||||
| 1 July 2020 | Released | [56] | |||||
| 1 August 2020 | LW | Released | [57] | ||||
| 27 August 2020 | [58] | ||||||
| 28 August 2020 | £1,000,000 | [59] | |||||
| 9 September 2020 | Undisclosed | [60] | |||||
| 11 September 2020 | Shilo Waldo | Free transfer | [61] | ||||
| 25 September 2020 | | Alex Gilbert | Free transfer | [62] | |||
| 14 January 2021 | Undisclosed | [63] | |||||
See main article: 2020–21 Premier League. Following their promotion from the 2019–20 EFL Championship, West Bromwich Albion are competing in the 2020–21 Premier League, the 29th season of English football's top division since its breakaway from the Football League in 1992. It is Albion's 13th season in the Premier League, 81st season in the top division of English football and their 122nd season of league football in all.[64]
Albion defeated Chelsea 5–2 in April in what was their first victory at Stamford Bridge since 1978.[65]
The 2020–21 season fixtures were released on 20 August.[66]
See main article: 2020–21 FA Cup.
The third round draw was made on 30 November, with Premier League and EFL Championship clubs all entering the competition.[67]
See main article: 2020–21 EFL Cup.
The draw for both the second and third round were confirmed on 6 September, live on Sky Sports by Phil Babb.[68]
|-!colspan=14|Players who left the club:|}
| Rank | No. | Nat. | Po. | Name | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | | AM | 11 | 1 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 2 | 7 | | LW | 5 | 0 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 3 | 4 | CF | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | |||
| 5 | CB | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||||
| 6 | | CB | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | |||
| 6 | 17 | | CF | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 18 | CM | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||||
| 8 | 2 | RB | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||
| 10 | LW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||
| 11 | LW | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||
| 16 | CM | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 29 | CF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | ||||
| Own Goals | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |||||
| Total | 25 | 2 | 5 | 32 | |||||
| Rank | No. | Nat. | Po. | Name | Premier League | League Cup | Total | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | CM | Conor Gallagher | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2 | 6 | | CB | Semi Ajayi | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | |
| 3 | 27 | | CB | Dara O'Shea | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | 2 | RB | Darnell Furlong | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 5 | CB | Kyle Bartley | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 8 | CM | Jake Livermore | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | |||
| 12 | | RW | Matheus Pereira | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 8 | 3 | LB | Kieran Gibbs | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | ||
| 19 | DM | Romaine Sawyers | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 20 | | CB | Branislav Ivanović | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 23 | RW | Robert Snodgrass | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 12 | 4 | CF | Hal Robson-Kanu | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 10 | RW | Matt Phillips | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 17 | | CF | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 22 | RB | Lee Peltier | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 28 | CB | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| 29 | CF | Karlan Grant | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 30 | DM | Ainsley Maitland-Niles | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |||
| 35 | | DM | Okay Yokuşlu | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 38 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 0 | 4 | |||||