When Ritchie Massey made a post on X on transfer deadline day promising free sausage sandwiches if West Bromwich Albion signed Adam Armstrong, he did not expect to be predicting the future.
The Oldbury cafe owner’s post went viral after the football club’s own account reposted his one and added “get the fryer on”.
The deal for the Southampton striker was sealed 14 hours after the transfer window closed.
Mr Massey said the signing was a massive plus and would see the club have a goalscorer – “something that we’ve missed for a couple seasons now” – so what better way to celebrate than free sandwiches?
His post has been seen by more than 1.2 million people on X with more than 500 likes.
“It is absolutely unbelievable, our social media has gone bonkers,” Mr Massey said.
“We’ve received lots of new followers and friends, it’s amazing.”
The Massey Cafe will give free sausage sandwiches to everyone who comes through their doors ahead of the Baggies home match against Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday – whether they are football fans or not.
“We’ve got extra staff working and I’ve ordered more sausages and bread to make sure we’re all ready to go to meet the demands,” Mr Massey said.
“I have to admit, preparations started around 11 o’clock on Monday evening.”
Armstrong has scored three goals in 23 appearances for Southampton this season and his move to West Brom sees him reunited with boss Tony Mowbray.
He first played for Mowbray as an 18-year-old on loan at Coventry City and bagged 20 goals in a memorable season. Three years later, Mowbray had moved on to Blackburn Rovers and he again signed Armstrong, initially on loan but then for a fee of £1.75m.
The move went so well Mowbray was able to demand a fee of £15m when he sold Armstrong on to Southampton three years later.
“He reminds me of Kevin Phillips, a goalscorer, something that we’ve missed for a couple of seasons now,” Mr Massey said.
“It is a massive plus that has given us fans a big boost.”
