DONE DEAL: West Brom struck gold with six-figure EFL transfer gamble

West Bromwich Albion’s decision to sign Brandon Thomas-Asante from Salford City in 2022 has firmly paid off for the Baggies.

West Brom have been chasing a return to the Premier League since they were relegated at the end of the 2020/21 season.

The Baggies suffered a difficult period back in the second tier under managers Valerien Ismael and Steve Bruce, with the latter sacked after dropping into the Championship relegation zone during the 2022/23 campaign.

Since the appointment of former Huddersfield Town boss Carlos Corberan, West Brom’s fortunes have greatly improved. West Brom finished fifth under the Spaniard this season, suffering a 3-1 aggregate defeat in a tactically enthralling semi-final defeat against eventual play-off winners Southampton.

Corberan worked miracles at The Hawthorns to achieve a top-six spot this season, after he admitted in the summer that he was using West Brom’s budget restrictions as motivation going into the campaign.

He did not spend any money on transfers during the 2023/24 season, despite selling Taylor Gardner-Hickman to Bristol City and Burnley signing Dara O’Shea for £7m.

The highly-rated manager relied on free transfers, loan signings and the players already at his disposal to build his squad, one which made West Brom supporters believe that promotion back to the Premier League could be a real possibility.

One player who was already at the club at the time of Corberan’s arrival had been signed from League Two by Bruce, before things turned sour at The Hawthorns for the experienced manager.

Thomas-Asante has done well for West Brom

West Brom signed Salford City forward Brandon Thomas-Asante on a three-year deal for £300k in the summer of 2022.

The 25-year-old had a release clause included in his contract that meant Salford’s co-owners, including Ryan Giggs and Gary Neville, could not stop the player signing for the Baggies.

Thomas-Asante’s instinct in front of goal, willingness to run in behind and eye for the spectacular have endeared him to West Brom’s supporters.

He won the club’s goal of the season award at the end of the 2022/23 season after scoring an incredible acrobatic effort against Stoke City at The Hawthorns.

He has played 72 games in the Championship for West Brom, scoring 18 goals as they have recorded back-to-back top 10 finishes.

The striker scored from the bench in both his first and second appearances, a last-minute equaliser at home against Burnley and a consolation goal from the penalty spot in a defeat against Birmingham City.

Thomas-Asante scored 11 goals in 39 Championship appearances under Corberan this season, displaying his importance to the squad despite only playing the full 90 minutes on 14 occasions.

His impressive performances in a West Brom shirt this season earned him his first ever call-up to the Ghana squad. He made his debut for his country from the bench in a 4-3 victory over the Central African Republic in a World Cup qualifier.

He has one year remaining on the deal he signed when he arrived from Salford, and it will be interesting to see what role he plays during the 2024/25 season with other West Brom strikers set to return from injury.

 

Thomas-Asante is out of contract next summer

Thomas-Asante is set to be out of contract next summer, and the Baggies will surely need to give the striker assurances over playing time if he is to agree a new deal.

West Brom strikers Daryl Dike and Josh Maja missed large parts of this season through injury, so there will be more competition for places next term once those two return to fitness.

Dike has had a horrible time with injuries since joining West Brom, and Maja only managed 12 league appearances during his injury-affected debut campaign for the club.

With that in mind, it would make sense for West Brom to focus on agreeing fresh terms with Thomas-Asante, who has been fit to feature regularly over the last two seasons.

At 25 years of age, the forward still has time to develop further and make the £300k that was spent on him look like even more of a bargain.