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Conor Townsend clear about his senior West Brom role in 'young squad' The left-back returned to The Hawthorns this summer after two years away and found a very different squad to the one he left in 2024. Experienced returnee Conor Townsend is ready to provide some much-needed experience to a youthful Albion squad this term. The 33-year-old checked back into The Hawthorns this summer on a free transfer two years after swapping the Black Country for Suffolk. Townsend has returned to a much-changed squad to the group he left in 2024, with just three remaining team-mates - and a former colleague now as head coach in James Morrison. Four of the seven new senior recruits are under 24. The left-back signed a one-year deal and is the eldest member of Morrison’s squad. He knows he has experience and knowhow to give to young colleagues for the rough and tumble of the Championship campaign ahead. “I'm the oldest in the squad and part of me as a player now is that experience I've got, I guess,” Townsend said. Subscribe now for HALF PRICE and catch every minute of our Albion coverage this season - from pre-season to the final whistle. CLICK HERE “We've got a young squad this season. I think I'll naturally take on that role of helping where I can. Obviously, with the younger lads, it's to pass on that experience, whatever that may be. “In training, if any of them have got questions about anything, then I'll try my best to help as a squad. “If we're going to be successful this season, it's about the squad. It's about everyone in the building. So it's not just about the starting 11.” The squad Townsend departed under Carlos Corberan two years ago was the oldest in the Championship, shortly into Bilkul’s ownership. Townsend, who has played more than 200 games for Albion, added: “We had quite a lot of experienced heads, but everyone took on that role of the experienced players in the dressing room. “There was quite a few of us, but everyone took the role on of being a leader when we needed it.” Townsend and Morrison were team-mates in 2018/19 before the latter’s retirement and the pair remained on close terms. “We can speak still on a friendship level,” he said. “With me as a player it might be helpful for him to maybe get a gauge on where the lads are feeling just in a friendly conversation, and with how things are going. “I respected him as a player when I first joined and he's done brilliantly. I respect him as a coach as well and there’s obviously that - sort of limit - to what a friendship can be now.”