George Overhill

Tue 28 March 2023 7:10, UK

USMNT interim coach Anthony Hudson is highly impressed by the transformation that Daryl Dike has been through in his time at West Brom.

The 22-year-old was back with his country during the international break after an injury-ravaged time at The Hawthorns since his January arrival last season, which saw him miss out on a place at the World Cup.

Since returning from injury Dike has netted seven Championship goals in 19 appearances and Hudson is clear that the Baggies coaching staff have been having a significant effect in comparison to his time in MLS with Orlando City.

Hudson said, via the Washington Post: “If I think about what he does now at West Brom to what he did in Orlando City — and no disrespect to Orlando City — he’s just developed.

“It’s very, very clear [West Brom] is working on his game, he’s working on his game and he is becoming a really good center forward.”

Fightback

Dike would surely have had to laugh if not cry at times since he returned to England with The Albion as he lost an entire year to incredibly unfortunate set backs, but looks like he might be coming good at last.

He’s having to make up for lost time but four league goals in his last five outings, making him responsible for five crucial points in the play-off race, is a very positive sign.

Making it back into the national set up will be a psychological boost to the £7million man, but even if they are impressing their international counterparts West Brom coaches will be holding their breath in the hope there is no new injury developments on the other side of the Atlantic for when he returns.

Carlos Corberan and his staff deserve credit for helping Dike develop, and they are tentatively starting to reap the rewards that both Valerien Ismael and Steve Bruce were largely robbed of.

Both the previous bosses can count themselves unlucky to be without the big striker, with little in the way of transfer budget left in the months since, but given how Corberan has worked wonders with players who were doing very little under his predecessors it is open to debate how much they would have got from the front man.

Injury in just his second Baggies match that ruled him out for the season, another months-long set back in the first game of the new campaign, and then a tantalising brief return just before the World Cup is a lot to come back from so few would begrudge Dike success now.

In other West Brom news, Jeff Stelling reacted live on Sky Sports to what he had heard about the Action For Albion protest.