Mason has been working as Tottenham Hotspur’s first-team coach over recent times. He is now embarking on his first number one managerial role.

He has shared this update, as per a report by BirminghamLive: “The playing squad excites me. Like with any team in the off season, you look at additions – that’s natural. That might be thinking too far ahead. I want to get to know the players and get a feel for them, know what they’re like as characters.

“It’s exciting. The pre-season we’ll have is going to be so important. It’ll lay the foundations for the season and how we want to play. We need to get fit, we need to get strong and understand what we want to be and look like. That’ll come around very quickly.

“The target is for everyone to come in everyday with a clear goal and ambition – that’s to be successful. A lot of hard work and sacrifice is going to be needed to go into that, but it excites me.”

West Brom latest after Ryan Mason appointment

West Brom will be eyeing promotion to the Premier League in the next campaign. WBA made the play-offs in 2024 under Carlos Corberan but missed out last term under Mowbray.

The Midlands outfit have the chance to bring in some new signings in the window to boost their ranks. They also have the opportunity to let some players head out the exit door to free up space and funds to pave the way for reinforcements.

They published their retained list last month and announced that the likes of Grady Diangana, John Swift and Semi Ajayi are heading out the exit door as free agents. They will need to be replaced with fresh acquisitions in the near future.

Will Ryan Mason succeed at West Brom?

West Brom’s decision to appoint Mason is a bit of gamble considering he has no experience as a manager. He arrives at WBA with some decent pedigree behind him from his time at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium though under Ange Postecoglou.

Mason spent the majority of his playing days at Spurs and rose up through their academy ranks before breaking into their first-team. He also had loan spells away with Doncaster Rovers, Millwall and Swindon Town to get experience.

Hull City signed him in 2016 but he was forced to retire early shortly afterwards after sustaining a serious head injury. He has since delved into the coaching world.

West Bromwich Albion transfer latest as new boss Ryan Mason begins working with the club on summer targets

West Bromwich Albion have been linked with striker Lawrence Shankland, who is soon to be a free agent with the summer transfer window now open, as the Baggies prepare to support new boss Ryan Mason in the market.

The prolific forward is out of contract with Scottish outfit Heart of Midlothian, for who he has scored 68 goals in three seasons. Shankland, 29, represented Scotland at the Euros in Germany last summer and is expected to explore new opportunities upon the expiry of his deal at Tynecastle.

Reports in Scotland suggest that Albion have him on their radar as a potential free agent although Hearts, who are these days managed by Albion favourite Derek McInnes, haven’t given up hope of convincing him to remain in Edinburgh.

Shankland has developed a reputation north of the border in recent years of being one of the most predatory marksmen around; in the space of two seasons, he scored 63 goals in 74 appearances for Ayr United, which earned him a move to Dundee United in 2019. There he netted 40 more goals in two years at Tannadice.

Shankland has been at Hearts since 2022 and has netted 56 goals in the SPL alone in that time. He was linked with a move to The Hawthorns in 2020, but Albion decided against funding the move at the time. Southampton have also been linked with Shankland.

Albion confirmed that Mason would be the club’s new boss on Monday evening, after he’d completed a Europa League-winning campaign with Tottenham Hotspur and enjoyed a brief holiday before returning and agreeing to take up the reins which had been set down by predecessor Tony Mowbray on Easter Monday.

Albion have also shown an interest in Shankland’s Hearts teammate, left-back James Penrice.