Toby Collyer's move from Man Utd to Albion was six months in the making

A priority target of James Morrison, the midfielder rejoined Albion in the nick of time towards the end of the summer transfer window, following the departure of Alex Mowatt to Derby County.

You know how it is by now, when it comes to young players at big clubs like United; they had designs for Brighton midfielder Carlos Beleba, Aston Villa’s Youri Tielemans and Chelsea’s Andrey Santos. Under Michael Carrick, they were tearing up the midfield department and starting again.

Still, with a World Cup in full flow, there was no chance the Red Devils were willing to permit Collyer to leave until they had their own numbers through the door and so, as it was, Albion were made to be patient.