West Bromwich Albion will be relieved that the Championship final day was straightforward in the end, convincingly beating Preston North End 3-0 to solidify a playoff spot that looked somewhat shaky.

Carlos Corberan's men will now go into the high-octane playoffs to face off against Russell Martin's Southampton, leaping up to fifth off the back of victory over the Lilywhites to avoid playing a low-on-confidence Leeds United at the semi-final stage.

The Baggies will hope an ex-Leeds United figure in Alex Mowatt can star in the playoffs to come for the West Midlands outfit, with a view to sitting him down to sign a new deal soon so as not to lose a crucial cog in the machine in the summer for nothing.

Alex Mowatt's season in numbers

Accumulating 82 appearances to date for West Brom across three up-and-down seasons, it's fair to say this season has seen Mowatt undergo a redemption arc at the Hawthorns.

Loaned out to Middlesbrough last campaign, where he largely underwhelmed with just two assists from 32 games, it looked as if Mowatt had no future in the West Midlands returning back to his parent club.

Yet, the former Whites midfielder stood out again versus Ryan Lowe's men last match with his confident penalty coolly tucked away setting the tone for a fantastic afternoon at the Hawthorns.

Amassing three key passes in the game on top of his opening goal allowing the Baggies to cruise, the experienced 29-year-old was unfortunate not to add to his assist tally for the campaign which stands at an impressive five.

Mowatt's creativity playing from deep could be key to Corberan's men unlocking Southampton, therefore, over two legs to then truly start dreaming about a Premier League return by getting to Wembley.

West Brom will just hope no potential promotion celebrations are dampened by Mowatt exiting in the summer on a free transfer, with the standout Baggies number 27 remarkably worth more than loan star Mikey Johnston according to Football Transfers.

Alex Mowatt's transfer value in 2024

Purchased on a Bosman after his Barnsley contract expired, the Tykes' disastrous loss ended up being West Brom's massive gain with Mowatt now worth £1.5m.

That makes the ex-Leeds midfielder a more valuable asset than Celtic loanee Johnston, who is rated at £1.4m, despite being crucial to his new team picking up vital wins to secure a spot in the playoffs since joining in January.

But, as much as Johnston has picked up a stunning haul of eight goal contributions from 18 Championship contests since arriving from Scotland, the powers that be at the Hawthorns will know exciting loan stars just naturally come and go and can be replaced.

Whereas, a player like Mowatt – who acts as the glue for Corberan's men in the centre of the park – won't be as easy to instantly get over especially if the crushing blow of losing him for nothing becomes reality.

1. Jed Wallace

£3.5m

2. Okay Yokuslu

£3.1m

3. Darnell Furlong

£3.09m

4. Conor Townsend

£3m

5. Brandon Thomas-Asante

£2.9m

Not quite entering into the top five of West Brom's most valuable assets when scanning the table above, Mowatt would still be a major loss for Corberan's men if he exits for free.

Once described as being an "outstanding" talent by ex-Leeds manager Neil Redfearn when first making waves in the men's game, Mowatt has gone on to show his clear qualities in the Championship this season as a more accomplished head and will no doubt be snapped up sharpish if he does walk away from the West Midlands.

As such, it would be a big mistake not to tie him down ahead of the next campaign.