Comment: Successful transfer window for West Brom puts promotion on the cards

Albion’s January was akin to a bad James Bond movie – plenty of action at either end with a lot of whispered conversations in the middle.

But there’s no denying Darren Moore has a stronger squad at the start of February than he did at the start of January.

He filled the biggest gap early on with right-back Mason Holgate, and based on his performances so far, the Everton man has significantly strengthened that flank.

Stefan Johansen is an extra body in central midfield, and if his Championship record is anything to go by, he’s exactly the sort of player Albion need in the engine room.

He has 19 goals from 81 appearances in this division, so roughly one in four, and with 16 assists on top of that, has been involved in a goal almost every other game.

At 28 he is in the prime of his career, although may need time to get up to speed after a frustrating first half of the season at Fulham.

It was always going to be difficult to replace Harvey Barnes, and Claude Puel’s dallying over the decision until the middle of the month didn’t help.

Albion left their business late on, until they could completely rule out the possibility of Barnes returning, but then they replaced him and Bakary Sako with Jacob Murphy and Jefferson Montero.

The Baggies hierarchy deserve credit for their poker faces on deadline day – when a deal for top target Murphy nearly fell through.

Murphy’s loan had been agreed in principle when Newcastle tried to use Albion’s interest in him to leverage a deal for Salomon Rondon.

They knew the Baggies were desperate for a winger, having let Barnes and Sako leave, and tried to capitalise.

But Albion refused to buckle under pressure and wish away Rondon’s value, and still managed to sign Murphy despite Middlesbrough sniffing around.

The 23-year-old was involved in 17 goals during his last season in the Championship, a campaign with Norwich that earned him a £12million move to Newcastle.

The good news for him is that he doesn’t have to fill all of the void left by Barnes, because Albion replaced Bakary Sako with Jefferson Montero.

Montero might have suffered with injuries this season, but he has the potential to be electric off the bench, a match-winner in tight games.

It’s also worth remembering football is supposed to be fun. And Montero is exactly the sort of player who gets the pulses racing.

Murphy may be Barnes’s material replacement, but Montero could be his aesthetic one.

With six loanees now in the squad, there will be understandable concern over the long-term sustainability of this team.

But with Guochuan Lai unwilling to provide further funds, loan deals make economic sense for a club in flux.

Albion hope to be in the Premier League next season, but they can’t guarantee it, and the financial disparity between the top two tiers makes this the best option.

Better that, than gamble the house on going up, like others have been guilty of in the past.

Albion were also able to get a higher calibre of player on loan. Johansen and Murphy would have arguably cost £10m-plus each permanently.

The Baggies had a limited pool of money that might have covered one permanent deal, two at a push.

Instead Albion brought in four players until the end of the season, and were willing to add Bryan Oviedo too before they ran out of time.

Regardless of which division, the Baggies face a rebuild in the summer, but at least they won’t be hamstrung by contracts they don’t want or need.

As for those on loan, if they enjoy their time at The Hawthorns, there could always be the potential to make it permanent in the summer.

The simple fact is that – if they didn’t before – Albion now definitely have one of the strongest squads in the division, if not the strongest. Automatic promotion must be the aim.