West Brom: Three academy strikers who could replace Brandon Thomas-Asante v Leicester
West Brom are preparing to face Leicester City on 20 April and could call on their academy to fill the void left by suspended striker Brandon Thomas-Asante.
Thomas-Asante picked up two yellow cards in as many minutes against Sunderland last time out, and the Albion conceded just moments later and saw their 10-game unbeaten run come to a halt.
Carlos Corberan does have other attacking options to choose from in the form of Andreas Weimann, West Ham loanee Callum Marshall, and summer signing Josh Maja.
However, none of that trio are in the form of these West Brom youngsters, all of whom may fancy their chances of stepping into Thomas-Asante’s shoes against Leicester.
West Brom News have picked out three players below;
Layton Love
The 19-year-old has been Albion’s go-to striker in the Premier League 2 so far this season, scoring five times in just seven appearances at a strike rate of a goal every 111 minutes according to SofaScore.
Love is yet to make his first-team debut but has appeared twice on the bench for West Brom this season, either side of a loan spell with Brackley Town in the National League North which saw him score four goals in six games.
Standing at six feet and four inches, Love has also registered two assists in the PL2 this season, and most notably netted an 89th-minute winner against Middlesbrough in January.
Reyes Cleary
Cleary has already had a taste of first-team action for Albion, making two Championship cameos and a total of six appearances, with the last of those coming at the end of last season.
The striker came off the bench in the Baggies’ 2-0 PL2 loss to Manchester City last time out having been out of action with an injury since November, when he scored twice in a 3-2 win over Reading.
Hopes are high for Cleary’s progression into Corberan’s Championship squad, with the club’s website saying he, “shows no sign of slowing down as he looks to become a consistent goalscoring outlet.”
Oliver Bostock
Even younger at 17 but with the talent to go all the way, Ollie Bostock has made the step up from West Brom’s Under-18s side to Premier League 2 this season.
Bostock had a productive international break with Wales’ Under-17s side, scoring twice and getting an assist in matches against Romania and Bulgaria.
He’s now a regular starter for the club’s Under-21s, providing an assist against Newcastle on 5 April, and while he’s more of a wide forward than an out-and-out striker, he’ll certainly be in Corberan’s thoughts as one for the future.
In other West Brom news, Shilen Patel took to social media to have his say on the Baggies’ recent defeat against Sunderland.
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