Following West Brom’s devastating injury news, Brandon Thomas-Asante will need to step up.
Josh Maja will be sidelined for at least eight weeks due to torn ankle ligaments, according to West Brom, leaving Brandon Thomas-Asante as the sole fit striker in the team.
The club will now depend on the striker to be the primary supplier of goals for the foreseeable future, and despite a strong start to the season thus far, he will be expected to handle the weight of expectation, so he will need to step up in the absence of all support.
Maja’s injury means he joins the other striker at the club, Daryl Dike, on the treatment table, with the former expected to return after the November international break, and the latter expected in December – although there is no clear time frame for Dike.
After Maja arrived without participating in any preseason training, Thomas-Asante was the only striker option for the team to start the season. As a result, it took him some time to become fully operational before he could be considered a candidate for a starting position in Carlos Corberan’s team.
In truth, Maja was only recently getting close to being fully healthy, and if it weren’t for the injury, his cameo effort against Bristol City should have won him a start against Watford.
The fact that Thomas-Asante has handled the pressure of expectation admirably so far this season and has embraced the opportunity to lead this team with three goals and an assist in his first six games is a plus.
Now, though, he will face pressure to maintain that level of performance until Maja returns. He must also watch out for injuries to avoid putting Corberan in a precarious position with no available attackers.
After hearing of late approaches from Stoke City [Express and Star, 31 August], the Baggies would be happy to have rejected any offers made for Thomas-Asante during the summer transfer window. If he had departed, the club would be in dire straits right now.
