Latest news with #AndrewNestor
BBC News
07-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
West Brom sign striker Heggebo from SK Brann
West Bromwich Albion have signed striker Aune Heggebo from Norwegian side SK Brann for an undisclosed 23-year-old has scored seven times in 13 appearances this campaign - the Eliteserien season runs from March to November - and joins the Baggies on a started his career at SK Brann in April 2018 and has scored 29 goals in 102 Norwegian becomes new Albion head coach Ryan Mason's third signing after Liverpool defender Nat Phillips and Harrogate Town forward Jack Bray."Reinforcing our striker options was a top priority going into this summer," Baggies sporting director Andrew Nestor said."Aune is a young, mentally strong talent with the technical and physical attributes that we were seeking to add to the squad, as well as complementing our existing attacking options."
BBC News
03-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
New Albion boss Mason club's 'top choice'
West Bromwich Albion sporting director Andrew Nestor says Ryan Mason was the club's first choice to be their new head coach after the sacking of Tony was relieved of his duties in April following Albion's home loss to Derby County with the club appointing former player James Morrison as interim boss for the final two games of the a disappointing run of five defeats from their final eight matches, Albion finished the season ninth in the Championship, four points off the play-off have now turned to rookie boss Mason, 34, embarking on his first permanent head coach role after two brief spells as caretaker at Tottenham in 2021 and 2023."We had other candidates but as we got to engage with Ryan and have discussions he became our top choice," Nestor told BBC Radio WM."It was a smooth process once we had the chance to engage with him."Obviously he was very busy with a great Europa League run. Once we had permission, we had a high level discussion around the vision for the club and the vision for his career."We got more granular through that process in terms of the tactics, the day-to-day operations, alignment along the different sporting departments, as well as staff." Albion's poor form at the back end of last season, combined with a style of play which many fans had become disillusioned with, was a key reason behind Mason's appointment and a seeming change in strategy."First and foremost, there's a very clear alignment in our playing model and the kind of squad we want to keep evolving and building," Nestor added."Otherwise he [Mason] wouldn't have been a top choice - there has to be that alignment. We have a very structured process around player recruitment and scouting. Ryan's input is very important to that."For every position, we have a shadow squad - a list of players we like and if there is an outgoing, those are players that we would approach and that continues to change on a daily basis."Myself, [director of football operations] Ian Pearce, [head of technical scouting] Dan Sale and Ryan were all aligned on what the squad needs going into next season. Last season, there was a lot of turnover and frankly we needed that to address the PSR (profit and sustainability rules) deficit."But we also wanted to address the playing style, to get the team younger, start to invest into assets that will have future value but will really impact the first-team straight away and create a better squad balance."BBC Radio WM's Steve Hermon will be joining the Baggies on their pre-season trip to Austria next week and compiling a 'Daily Diary' which you will be able to read here.
BBC News
02-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Mason feels 'at home' as West Brom boss
New West Bromwich Albion head coach Ryan Mason says he already feels "at home" despite only having arrived at the club this 34, was appointed by Albion in his first full-time managerial role on June 2, signing a three-year contract."Football is a strange world, you can be made to feel at home somewhere so quickly," the former Tottenham Hotspur coach told BBC Radio WM. "The people I've inherited have contributed to that. I feel like I have been here more than a month already."[I gave] expectations around the type of people I want them to be. We'll have our philosophy and understanding of how we want the team to look but the most important thing is the people who drive it."Mason added that while he has a style of play in mind, he wants to build a strong culture at The Hawthorns."The playing side is super important, but the people inside the club, Andrew [Nestor] the chairman and Piercy [head of recruitment Ian Pearce] the dialogue I had with them, was the most important thing," he said."That gives me the belief we can build something together. Ultimately I need to get the players to believe in what we are doing. "That is the first thing. We want to fight for everything and be together, you have to be a team and pulling in the same direction. That trumps any tactical approach."The Baggies will be hoping for a stronger season this year, having finished ninth in the Championship, four points off the play-offs.
BBC News
25-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Albion 'in the hands of people who care'
Albion chairman Shilen Patel has written his latest open letter to supporters and there's plenty to be encouraged by - but it's also honest about their ongoing challenge of abiding by the EFL's profit and sustainability rules (PSR).The Baggies must avoid losses of £39m over a three-year rolling period and the American owner describes the fact that they avoided breaching rules in the last financial year as "a remarkable feat". He has pumped millions of pounds into the club monthly since taking over in February of last year and he and his team absolutely deserve credit for that. However, he has warned the club will have to continue to be "pragmatic and adaptable" when it comes to the transfer writes that fans should expect player departures every summer but they want to recruit "well-vetted" talents. This is the task of sporting director Andrew Nestor and has been displayed by the capture of Isaac Price, who was watched for some time before the Baggies signed him for around £2.5m from Standard Liege in January. He will no doubt be sold for a much higher fee at some point in the future. Likewise, Norwegian defender Torbjorn Heggem was bought for just over £500k last summer but is now worth way more after a stellar debut season in English football and the club will eventually cash in on academy product Tom Fellows. Which one of their high value assets leaves in this window is to be determined but that's the business of also recognises the need to grow commercially, he reveals conversations with local political leaders to boost the Baggies' standing in the wider West Midlands region and doesn't forget about their role in the community through the Albion Foundation charity, which he labels "vital".In the last year, the club has invested in the training ground while improvements to the Hawthorns stadium have taken place this summer. It's also a positive that the club consider it a "priority" to find a home ground for the women's team that's closer to West Bromwich. The third-tier side currently play 20 miles away in Redditch and Patel wants a venue that's better suited to "elite-level football". It's worth noting that spending on all these things does not come under a work in progress but the club is in the hands of people who genuinely care. As always in the fickle world of football though, it's what happens on the field that counts. Shilen Patel reckons new men's head coach Ryan Mason has "all the qualities to make a massive mark on the club" and that's what fans will focus on the most.
BBC News
12-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'Mason more experienced than his age suggests'
West Bromwich Albion sporting director Andrew Nestor has been speaking in depth about the appointment of Ryan Mason as the club's new head 33-year-old has taken on his first full-time management role at The Hawthorns and Nestor said Mason will be "the leader we need"."Ryan is relatively young, but in coaching years he's not," Nestor said. "He's really developed an impressive career during his time at Tottenham Hotspur. I wouldn't say age is an overriding factor [in why he was appointed]. "The first factor really is finding a coach who can adapt our squad, our playing philosophy and evolve it into a game model that allows us to win in this division and have sustained success."Nestor also said it is a "huge advantage" that Mason has worked with high-profile managers during his career both as a player and coach, including Mauricio Pochettino, Jose Mourinho, Antonio Conte and Ange Postecoglou."He's played and coached alongside some great football minds," Nestor added."He's been able to take best practices, see things he's probably disagreed with and really bring that into his own philosophy."Read more on what Nestor said about Mason here.
