Gus Poyet savoured one of the best signings of his career – and admitted it was second time lucky.

The Albion boss secured former England left-back Wayne Bridge on a season-long agreement, then declared: “It’s a great day.

“I think it was one of the best days in the close season we have had.

“We tried to get Wayne in January before we got Joe Mattock on loan from West Brom but we couldn’t reach an agreement on the financial side.

“Now it was a different scenario and we were lucky enough to reach a financial agreement.

“We were looking at other options for the summer but we always had Wayne in pole position.”

Poyet was also happy with the loan deal which takes first team prospect Jake Forster-Caskey to League Two side Oxford United until January.

Forster-Caskey links up with former Albion defender Chris Wilder, who is now boss at the Kassam Stadium.

Poyet said: “We let him decide which club to join but we had to agree to it. He is going to play a lot, he will be on the ball a lot. It will be perfect for him.”