West Brom avoid ‘crisis’ with Brandon Thomas-Asante update after Jeremy Sarmiento blow
With the January transfer window now open, West Brom like most clubs in the Championship are plotting to strengthen their side for the second half of the campaign.
The Baggies have suffered an early setback with news emerging that Brighton have opted to recall Jeremy Sarmiento from his loan spell at The Hawthorns, due to an ongoing injury crisis on the south coast.
Albion are reportedly keen to sign two new attacking options in January now that the Ecuadorian has returned to the Seagulls, having already wanted to replace the injured Matt Phillips [Lewis Cox, 1 January].
However, in some more positive news for West Brom supporters and Carlos Corberan, Brandon Thomas-Asante has not been named in Chris Hughton’s final Ghana squad for the African Cup of Nations, meaning he will remain at The Hawthorns throughout January.
The Baggies’ forward had been named in the Black Stars’ initial provisional squad for the tournament but has not made the final 27-man list, with Inaki Williams, Antoine Semenyo and Jonathan Sowah the only three strikers named.
While this will likely come as a disappointment to Thomas-Asante on a personal note, it is a huge boost to Albion in their fight to finish in the top six places.
Corberan is by no means spoilt with forward options at The Hawthorns, with the Ghanaian currently the only fit-recognised forward in the Spaniard’s side as Josh Maja and Daryl Dike battle with injury.
Even with Thomas-Asante and Sarmiento ready and available, Albion were facing a striker “crisis” with Corberan unhappy with the options available to him and requiring “bags of cash” to sign some new options [Mirror Football, 16 December].
Had the 25-year-old jetted off for the AFCON on the same Sarmiento was recalled, that crisis would have only become more severe as West Brom would have almost been left with no options to feature in attack throughout January.
Despite this minor boost, Albion need to ensure that they meet their target and manage to sign at least two new attacking options in January, otherwise, this playoff charge could crash and burn very quickly.
Hopefully, Thomas-Asante can remain fit and available now. It would be just the Baggies’ luck if he were to pick up a knock after all the recent bad news at The Hawthorns.
In other West Brom news, an update has emerged surrounding the Baggies’ January recall clause in Karlan Grant’s contract