Brandon Thomas-Asante now set for most critical West Brom spell as new Daryl Dike blow emerges
West Brom striker Daryl Dike may not feature again in 2023 and that means Brandon Thomas-Asante is now set to undergo his most critical spell at The Hawthorns.
According to Birmingham Live (12 September) it’s extremely likely that West Brom fans may not see the American international take to The Hawthorns pitch again until 2024.
Dike suffered an Achilles injury in April which has since kept him out for six months, and is still in the early stages of his rehabilitation following successful surgery on the area.
West Brom fans will be hoping that Dike can hit the ground running upon his return to the first team whenever that may be, and the hope will certainly be that he returns in December for the crucial Christmas period rather than afterwards.
But until then, manager Carlos Corberan already has two strikers at his disposal on course to fill his shoes in Thomas-Asante and Josh Maja but with the Albion holding stark ambitions to become strong promotion contenders, both players have huge responsibilities to fire the goals West Brom needs to match those aims.
And Thomas-Asante in particular will be desperate to prove that he is amongst the best of his position in the division with there still being much doubt over his ability to score at a consistent rate this season.
The Milton Keynes-born forward, who was linked with a deadline day move away from The Hawthorns to Stoke City [Mail Sport, 1 September], has either scored or assisted a goal in each of his past four outings in all competitions.
But, there arguably wouldn’t have been plenty of worry within the club fanbase had West Brom accepted an offer for the forward. Maja is there to come in had that occurred.
Corberan stuck to his guns though, and he certainly believes he is the man to fire the goals for West Brom.
The 24-year-old has two goals and an assist in four league appearances, meanwhile, in what has been a mixed start for Albion in terms of results.
His overall record as a West Brom striker certainly highlights a player who may not have what it takes, scoring just 12 goals in his 40 appearances so far [Transfermarkt].
He certainly has the ability, possessing great pace and technical acumen to trouble defence and become the striker he knows he can become but he needs to find the back of the net with great regularity if he is to match it with some of the Championship’s best strikers.
But there is always plenty of room for improvement and Corberan’s summer acquisition of Maja from Bordeaux is ideally supposed to provide Thomas-Asante with the tonic to improve his form and consistency.
Whether the former Salford City forward can deliver the goods for West Brom in Dike’s absence remains to be seen but what is certain is that the 24-year-old certainly faces the most testing and critical spell of his career to date.
In other West Brom news, African media wowed as one Hawthorns star shines in a stunning 8.5/10 performance on international duty.