Albion have played down concerns their top players have been in a World Cup shop window.

The club are looking forward to seeing their eight Qatar stars back on board – through January and beyond.

Midfielder Alexis Mac Allister has helped Argentina reach the final on Sunday.

Club colleagues Kaoru Mitoma, Moises Caicedo and Pervis Estupinan also caught the eye on the game’s biggest stage.

But Albion are not expecting to lose talent next month on the back of those performances.

Deputy chairman and chief executive Paul Barber said: “Nobody out there didn’t know about our best players before the World Cup.

“Everybody in our squad has performed at a really high level now for a long time.

“The best players are always on someone’s radar somewhere, regardless of a World Cup.

“The fact many of them have performed very well in the World Cup simply enhances that.

“It doesn’t change it, it just enhances it.

“Equally, it doesn’t change our position that we are very happy with our squad.

“We are looking forward to the second half of the season - and we are looking forward to the second half of the season with the squad we have got.”

Head coach Roberto De Zerbi has said he wants to strengthen in certain areas and does not believe that will be a problem.

But that does not necessarily mean a busy month.

Barber said: “It just depends. We look at things across multiple windows.

“We don’t just look at one window.

“The January window is one that we least look at.

“Where there are opportunities to do things and they strengthen the squad and they are affordable and doable, then it’s possible, but it’s not a month in which we expect to be crazy busy at all.”

De Zerbi has made it clear he is excited about the one January signing already secured, that of young Argentinean attacking midfielder Facundo Buonanotte from Rosario Central.

Albion had been linked with interest in teenage Molde striker David Datro Fofana but he is now reportedly close to joining Chelsea.

Meanwhile Albion’s under-18s face a trip to Manchester City in the fourth round of the FA Youth Cup after a hard-fought 2-1 win over minnows Dover Athletic.

Bailey Smith scored both goals for the Seagulls.